The much delayed rejuvenation project for Mithi River has once again received a jolt on Wednesday after the standing committee of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) held back the proposal. The committee held back the phase one work of the proposal without any discussion.
Under phase one, the BMC planned to spend around Rs 211 crore on laying new sewer lines, constructing sewage treatment plants and pumping stations.
The 2005 deluge in Mumbai had resulted in an estimated loss of over Rs 1,000 crore. Following the incident, a comprehensive plan to restore the city's choked water body was undertaken with the formation of Mithi River Development and Protection Authority (MPDPA). The work involves the 17.83-km-long river's rejuvenation by deepening and widening and beautifying it.
The river rejuvenating programme has been divided into four phases. The proposal to appoint a contractor for phase one was tabled before the committee on Wednesday but it was not taken up for discussion.
Ravi Raja, Congress corporator and leader of the Opposition, said, "This is an important project for the city as clogging of Mithi has created disastrous situations in the city in 2005. The project should be sanctioned as early as possible."
As per the proposal, only after treatment of sewage water as per the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) standard, all treated water will be pumped into the river. The sewer lines are expected to come up within 18 months of allotting the work order.
As per the proposal, the contract of Rs 211 crore included conceptualising, building, maintenance and laying new storm water drains in the area as well as maintenance for 15 years. Now the civic administration has to rework on the condition of the proposal so that it can table before the standing Committee.
A senior civic official said that the committee will have to give its final decision on the project within this month. "There are no reasons to delay the approval of the project as all the permissions are in place and the treatment of the water will be done as per the CPCB norms before releasing it back into the river."
