Ganga cleansing: Govt pumps Rs 1,050 cr for sewage treatment

The central government has awarded contacts worth Rs 1,050 crore to develop sewage treatment infrastructure in Patna to curb the contamination of the Ganga river stretch.
The government will set up two sewage treatments plants (STPs), renovate an already existing plant, construct pumping stations and develop a 407 km-long underground sewage network under the project.
The contracts for building an STP with 60 million litres per day (MLD) capacity and laying of 227 km underground sewage network in the city's Saidpur Zone have been awarded to two firms UEM India Pvt Ltd and Jyoti Build Tech Pvt Ltd at a cost of Rs 600 crore.

Three other firms--Larsen and Turbo Ltd, Voltas Ltd and GAA Germany JV--have been awarded separate projects in Beur Zone.
These firms will build one STP of 23 MLD capacity, renovate an existing 20 MLD plant and develop new 180 km-long underground sewage network in the zone.
The firms will also install main pumping stations of 83 MLD and 50 MLD capacity in Saidpur and Beur Zones respectively.

The contracts also include the cost of operation and maintenance of STPs and sewage networks for a period of 10 years.
"These projects not only aim to treat the sewage generated in Patna but also take into account sewage estimates of next decade, considering expected rise of population in the city," Union Water Resources Ministry said in a statement.

National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), which is implementing the government's Namami Gange programme, will monitor the works.
Spread over more than 100 sq km surface area, the Bihar capital is sub-divided into six sewerage zones: Digha, Beur, Saidpur, Kankarbagh, Pahari and Karmali Chak.
Contract for sewage related projects in Karmali Chak zone are expected to be awarded shortly, the statement said.