Kolkata Municipal Corporation set to spend Rs 700 crore to rejuvenate choked Adi Ganga
Times of India | 21 September 2024
The Tolly’s Nullah, now choked with sewage, floods the areas along the banks during high tides KOLKATA: The KMC will spend nearly Rs 700 crore to clean the Adi Ganga and rejuvenate the water flow in the channel that was once vibrant but has dried up over the years to turn into a canal, now known as the Tolly's Nullah.
The three-year project, which is expected to start early next year, involves setting up of sewage treatment plants (STPs) along the banks as part of the pollution-abatement work.
The scope of work includes managing and operating the treatment plants for 15 years. EMS Ltd, a water and sewerage infrastructure firm headquartered in Ghaziabad, has emerged as the lowest bidder in the Rs 681-crore tender, floated by the civic body.
Within three years, The company will design, build, test and commission the infrastructure required to reduce pollution in the Adi Ganga. The firm is engaged in water and sewerage projects in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan.
The KMC is set to seek concurrence from the World Bank in a month, said a civic official associated with the project. After a nod from the donor (World Bank), the matter will be first placed at the mayor-in-council meeting and subsequently, a proposal will be placed at the KMC House for approval.
"We hope to begin work by early next year and wrap up the project by the end of 2027. The contractors will be liable for operation and maintenance of the infrastructure for 15 years after completion of the project," said a KMC official.
According to the official, the multi-crore project has been taken up with a view to revive the Tolly's Nullah, which is choked with sewerage and industrial waste discharge.
Three major sewage treatment plants will be set up to treat the water before it flows into Tolly's Nullah.
"Right now, the entire length of Toly's Nullah, from Kidderpore to Garia, is getting polluted by untreated sewage. We have planned to construct three sewage treatment plants and refurbish 24 lifting stations to combat pollution," said a KMC official.
According to a KMC source there are 72 points along the Tolly's Nullah, where waste water is discharged into the Adi Ganga.