Digha in Navi Mumbai to get sewage treatment plant in 2 years

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to lay a 26km-long sewage line across all the 21 slums of Digha; NMMC is now done with the tendering of the project and the work at the site will start next week

Stinky nullahs in the slums of Digha are going to be a thing of the past. The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has decided to lay a 26km-long sewage line across all the 21 slums of Digha.

Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation is to lay a 26km-long sewage line across all the 21 slums of Digha. (HT FILE PHOTO)

NMMC is now done with the tendering of the project and the work at the site will start next week. They are spending around ₹24Cr on it.

A senior officer from the engineering department of NMMC said, “Digha is one of the oldest areas in the city but these slums do not have any sewage system till date. This has been a major challenge in terms of keeping the slums clean. Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) has agreed to give us a plot for developing the Sewage Treatment Plant (STP). We will finish the entire project within two years.”

Presently, NMMC has six STPs in CBD Belapur, Nerul, Sanpada, Vashi, Koparkhairane and Airoli. The total length of their sewage lines is around 361.20km and the sewage generated in their area is over 197.00 million litres per day (MLD).

Dattratray Salvi, 39, an activist from Digha, said, “The population of Digha is now around one lakh. Despite being one of the richest civic bodies in the country, NMMC had been ignoring us for such a long time because we stay in the slums. For the overall development of any city, the authorities should also concentrate on the cleanliness and maintenance of its slums.”