The new
Rs. 70-crore sewage treatment plant (STP) at Indirapuram in Ghaziabad that has a capacity to dispose of 56 million litres of sewage a day is caught in a tangle between the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and the power corporation over the cost of providing an electricity
connection.
Authority officials said the new treatment plant was almost complete and awaiting an electricity connection.
The GDA officials said they would set up a power connection on their own as the cost quoted by the Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) for a separate feeder line — around Rs. 2.8 crore for a 1050-kilowatt connection — was too high.
The new plant will treat sewage from Indirapuram and Vaishali areas. Indirapuram is suffering from a sewage overflow problem due to the heavy load on the main sewage lines that connects the existing treatment plant.
Chief engineer of GDA, RK Singh, said the authority would go ahead with the power connection on its own. “We hope that the STP starts functioning on time without delays,” he said. The GDA has a power department of its own.
On the other hand, a third sewage treatment plant with a capacity to treat 74 million litres of sewage a day at Shakti Khand in Indirapuram, which is being built by the UP Jal Nigam, is almost complete.
The Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited will provide power connection at a cost of Rs. 2.65 crore for which tender work is almost over.
To resolve the sewage overflow problem at Indirapuram and nearby areas, the GDA had earlier planned to acquire a super-sucker machine at a cost of R1 crore but nothing has happened as yet.
For over a year now, residents have been protesting against the sewage problems in the area and want the treatment plant and super-sucker machine without any delay.