Navi Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) resumed the operation of its sewage treatment plant in Ghansoli in police presence on Saturday. For the past two weeks, the plant was shut and untreated water was being released in Thane Creek. The plant has the capacity to treat 30 million litres of waste daily.
Environmentalists raised concern about the unmitigated flow of untreated sewage water into the creek, posing significant threats to marine life and biodiversity. They also pointed out that the toxic sewage pollutants not only affect aquatic ecosystems but also jeopardize the health of those who consume fish and crabs caught from these contaminated waters.
A part of the land of the plant reportedly belongs to a villager and the villager opposed any activity on his land.
STP operation impeded owing to family feud
The normal operation of the STP project has been significantly impeded by a land dispute involving Ramdas Patil's ownership claim. Patil’s grandchild Nitesh Patil asserted that he had not received compensation from CIDCO for the land, leading to his decision to shut down the project. He also shows a letter that was sent by the then municipal commissioner Annasaheb Misal to CIDCO to resolve the land dispute.
B N Kumar, Director of NatConnect Foundation, an NGO raised the issue and complained to the chief minister. Responding to complaints from environmentalists regarding the discharge of untreated sewage from Ghansoli STP into Thane Creek, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has instructed the Urban Development Department to investigate the matter.
Meanwhile, the Rabale police issued a notice to Nitesh Patil and asked him to not obstruct the operation of the STP and suggested adopting the legal process to get compensation for the land. The notice was issued under section 149 of the CRPC.
Nitesh says private bouncers deputed to terrify him and family
Nitesh alleged that the civic body has been using muscle power to resume the operation of the plant. “The part of the plant is constructed on my land and I have not received compensation. The civic body deputed private bouncers at the plant to terrify me and my family,” alleged Patil, adding that he will also submit a letter to the police station and explore legal recourse.
When FPJ contacted Sanjay Desai, City Engineer, NMMC, he said that the operation of the plant has been resumed with the help of police as locals were creating problems. However, he refused that bouncers were used at the plant.
Bouncers deployed by NMMC | FPJ
