Ahead of monsoon, Mumbai can speed up its sewage project: SC

Ahead of monsoon, Mumbai can speed up its sewage project: SC

The BMC has proposed to construct seven STPs at Worli, Bandra, Dharavi, Versova, Malad, Ghatkopar and Bhandup with a capacity of treating 2,464 million litres of sewage daily under the Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project-II.

Staff ReporterUpdated: Wednesday, May 04, 2022, 11:32 PM IST
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Sewage Treatment Plant | FPJ photo

After the Supreme Court’s directive that the BMC can now speed up its ambitious Rs 29,653 crore-sewage treatment plants (STPs), the process will be completed and a contract for seven STPs will be awarded to the eligible lowest bidder by May 31, the BMC said on Wednesday.

The BMC has proposed to construct seven STPs at Worli, Bandra, Dharavi, Versova, Malad, Ghatkopar and Bhandup with a capacity of treating 2,464 million litres of sewage daily under the Mumbai Sewage Disposal Project-II (MSDP). Amid the opposition’s allegation of cartelisation, and after receiving the high bidding price (30-70 per cent above the BMC estimates) from the contractors, the BMC scrapped the tender in February 2022.

Meanwhile, during a hearing on a pending matter, the Supreme Court in February passed the order to float and process the tenders and to apprise the court of the steps that have been taken. The BMC filed its report before the Supreme Court on Wednesday. The apex court also directed that in the event that any party or bidder has any objection whatsoever to the tendering process, such objections shall be raised before the Supreme Court only, not any other court.

The court directed the Municipal Commissioner to personally monitor the progress of the tender process so as to obviate any bottlenecks in the decision-making process.

The next hearing will be held in July 2022 to monitor the progress of setting up of these seven STPs. “After completion, not only 2,464 million litres (MLD) of sewerage water per day will be recycled for reuse, but also the critical issue of environmental degradation will get addressed,” said Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal.


Mumbai waste water hearing on July 19

The Mumbai waste water disposal case will now come up before the Supreme Court after the summer vacation on July 19.

A Bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud, Surya Kant and Bela M Trivedi appreciated the BMC; civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal filed an affidavit along with a status report, and personally appeared through the video conferencing platform.

He told the court that though it was anticipated to award the work by June 15, the process has been expedited to award it by May 31. He narrated the steps taken by the BMC for inviting, scrutinising and award of the tenders for waste water disposal at seven locations to ensure no flooding during the months of monsoon.

The treatment facilities identified for the purpose are at Versova, Bhandup, Ghatkopar, Dharavi, Worli, Bandra and Malad. The court asked the BMC to file the latest status report before the next date of hearing on July 19.

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