Giving emphasis to sanitation, the Central Government has approved seven sewage projects worth Rs 425 crore. The projects will deal with sewage infrastructure, Ghat development and research.
Out of the seven, three projects each in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have been approved. In UP, diversion and Sewage Treatment Plans (STP) projects for Unnao, Shuklaganj and Ramnagar have been approved.
These three projects aim at creation of sewage treatment capacity of 29 Million Litres Per Day (MLD) (Unnao- 13 MLD, Shuklaganj- six MLD and Ramnagar- 10 MLD) at a total cost of Rs 238.64 crore.
Unnao and Sultanganj projects will be taken up under Hybrid Annuity based Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in which 60 per cent of the capital cost will be paid to the contractor who has constructed the STP, over a period of 15 years, on the basis of his work performance on the achievement of desired norms of treated waste water.
In Bihar, three projects at Sultanganj, Naugachia and Mokama at a cost of Rs 175 crore have been approved. These three projects will create additional sewage treatment capacity of 27 MLD (Sultanganj- 10 MLD, Mokama- eight MLD and Naugachia- nine MLD).
The Central Government will provide operation and maintenance cost for 15 years.
The Government has also approved a research study to understand the non-putrefying properties of river Ganga in both water and sediment was also approved at an estimated cost of Rs 4.96 crore.
The study will be an extension of a research carried out by National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to identify the special properties of river’s waters. This research would focus on finding out the science behind these special properties in order to formulate a strategy to retain these characteristics.
