Mumbai: After 20-year wait, sewage treatment project gets ₹2,792 cr boost

The ambitious upgradation of the city’s seven Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) – stuck for the last two decades – was surely to find a decent provision in the BMC budget after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the project during his visit. The official figure is ₹2,792 crore for 2023-24.

The unprecedented delay owing to various reasons and a 6% rise in Goods and Services Tax (GST) has increased its cost to ₹27,309.83 crore from ₹25,963 crore in May 2022 when the contract was awarded. The estimated cost in 2009, though, was Rs5,500 crore.

Plants will together treat 2,464 million litres of sewage every day

Touted as one of the biggest projects being undertaken by the BMC in terms of cost, the STPs will treat 2,464 million litres of sewage every day. Currently, sewage is collected at Worli, Bandra, Dharavi, Versova, Malad, Ghatkopar and Bhandup and treated at a primary level before being released into creeks, rivers and the Arabian Sea.

When the new STPs come up, sewage will be treated at secondary and tertiary levels to reduce pollution by following stricter norms of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Project to take shape in next 4-5 years

The scope of work will include design, construction, operations and maintenance of the existing plants for 15 years, sludge treatment to class A level and power generation from biogas produced. The project will be completed in the next four to five years. 

Officials said clearances from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF) and the CPCB on the new discharge norms took years. 

Year-wise Cost Escalation

2009: ₹5,500 cr

2018: ₹10,000 cr

2020: ₹18,500 cr

2021: ₹21,000 cr

2022: ₹25,963 cr

2023: ₹27,309 cr