At a time when rising pollution levels in Buddha Nullah has become a cause of worry of residents and local authorities, the state-level technical committee of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, Government of India, approved projects worth ₹111 crore for dealing with the pollution in Buddha Nullah.
At a meeting held in Chandigarh under the chairmanship of principal secretary (local bodies department) A Venu Prasad on Tuesday, the committee approved a sewage treatment plant, having a capacity of 50 million litres per day (MLD) and two effluent treatment plants for dealing with the waste produced by dairy units.
Existing plant at Jamalpur running above capacity
The city already has a 48MLD sewage treatment plant in Jamalpur, but it is not able to cope with the pressure of the waste generated in the city, so it was decided to set up another plant, having a capacity of 50MLD at a cost of ₹55 crore.
Two effluent treatment plants (ETP) with the capacity of 10 MLD and 5 MLD for dealing with dairy waste would be established at Haibowal and Tajpur road respectively. The cost of establishing both the ETPs would be around ₹38 crore.
Apart from that Rs18 crore was approved under AMRUT scheme for upgrading or repairing the infrastructure at Balloke and Bhattian treatment plants. In all projects worth around ₹111 crores got approval.
{{/usCountry}}Apart from that Rs18 crore was approved under AMRUT scheme for upgrading or repairing the infrastructure at Balloke and Bhattian treatment plants. In all projects worth around ₹111 crores got approval.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, MLA (east) Sanjay Talwar had also raised concerns over the STP in Jamalpur running above capacity stating that over 100MLD waste is being poured into the plant against the capacity of 48MLD. He had further revealed that waste from dyeing units was being poured into the plant, which cannot treat industrial waste.
Talwar also said that the dairy units at Tajpur Road are discarding their waste in the nullah, which is leading to pollution. He said strict action will be taken against such units. He said that the Buddah Nullah issue will be taken up at the state-level and efforts will be made to upgrade two other STPs at Bhattian and Balloke, if necessary.
MC joint commissioner Satwant Singh said all the three projects, including establishment of another 50 MLD sewer treatment plant at Jamalpur and two effluent treatment plants for Haibowal road and Tajpur road have been approved in the state-level technical committee of AMRUT scheme.
The central government will bear 1/3 share of the total cost of the projects while the rest would be paid by the state government.
Earlier, the state government had announced to spend ₹995 crore for dealing with the pollution in Buddha nullah after the matter of pollution in water bodies of Punjab reached National Green Tribunal. In the first week of June, a state-level team had visited the city to inspect the three sewer treatment plants in city and recommended the upgrade the treatment plants.
Mayor seeks funds for city’s development
Ahead of the visit by the chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Independence day, Mayor Balkar Sandhu met chief principal secretary to CM, Suresh Kumar on Wednesday and demanded ₹200 crore for the development of city. Sandhu said it is expected that CM would make some announcement and they have put forward their demand.