The Maharashtra Cabinet on Wednesday cleared a proposal to set up sewage treatment plants (STPs) in all urban local bodies in the State.
The total amount of sewage from the 391 local civic bodies is 9,758.53 million litres per day (MLD) and the current sewage treatment system has a capacity of 7,747.24 MLD. “Even though the State has the capacity to treat around 79% of the sewage it produces in urban areas, the National Green Tribunal has mandated it to set up plants to treat increase its sewage treatment capacity by 2,011 MLD. The State Cabinet sanctioned the project on Wednesday,” an official from the urban development department said.
Most major cities like Mumbai, Nasik, Navi Mumbai, Thane and Pune either already have STPs or are constructing them. The first stage of this scheme will involve setting up the sewage treatment capacity in urban bodies, the cost of which is estimated at ₹2,820 crore.
The money for this initiative is likely to be raised from the Centre’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and/or the State sponsored Golden Jubilee Urban Renewal Mega Mission.
A decentralised sewage management system is being set up in municipal panchayat areas, for which funds have been drawn from the Swacchha Bharat Abhiyan. The second phase of the project will include a plan to centralise this sewage water for treatment.