Over 10 years on, city’s sewage treatment plants yet to take off

The ambitious project by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) — Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project (MSDP) — in which waste-water treatment plants were supposed to come up at seven places in the city, has not taken off in the last 10 years, with not even a single plant being started.

The initial cost of Rs 1,851 crore for the project has been escalated to Rs 5,400 crore after the inordinate delay. The waste-water treatment plants are to be built to treat sewage water before it is let off into the sea to avoid damage to marine ecology.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis who also holds Urban Development Department, admitted to the fact in the Assembly on a query regarding the project.

“It is true that not a single treatment plant has started. The reasons include availability of land, CRZ (Coastal Regulation Zone) norms, the high court permission, permission from forest department and changing parameters of the Central Environment Board. The project cost envisaged in 2001 was of Rs 1,851 crore. At present, the coast is Rs 5,400 crore,” the CM said in a written reply. Congress MLA Kalidas Kolambar and Nitesh Rane had asked the question pointing at the escalated cost of the delayed project.

The plants are planned at Colaba, Worli, Bandra, Malad, Bhandup, Versova and Ghatkopar. Works to upgrade existing infrastructure, increasing diameter of pipelines carrying sewage water were supposed to be completed.

In the reply, the CM said that Mott McDonald and R.V. Anderson were appointed as consultants for the project in 2007.

The initial plan made by them was considering population of the city till 2015. However, it was later upgraded for the population till 2031, he said.

Meanwhile, the Central Pollution Control Board has upgraded its parameters about treatment of waste-water and hence the project cost is expected to go up, he added.

As per the upgraded norms, the CM said that new consultants have been appointed for the plants except Malad. Tender has been floated for Colaba plant and tender plan for Bhandup and Ghatkopar is ready.

Also, considering space crunch at Worli and Bandra, a possibility of checking multi-storey construction is ongoing and tender process would soon begin at Versova.

For Malad plant, NOC is awaited for CRZ, the CM added.