Mira-Bhayandar general body clears Rs 476-crore DPR for sewerage phase 2; opposition objects

The general body of the Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Corporation has approved a Rs 476-crore detailed project report (DPR) for the second phase of the underground sewerage scheme. The decision has set off a fresh controversy. The ruling BJP approved it, while the Congress and the Shiv Sena opposed it. The opposition's proposal was rejected because it lacked a majority.

It is alleged that the scheme remains incomplete even after about Rs 800 crore was spent on the first phase. The first phase was taken up in 2009 with the aim of treating the city's wastewater properly and disposing of it. Under the scheme, sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of 115 million litres a day (MLD) were to be built at ten locations in the city, along with a sewer network connecting them. The opposition has objected that the first-phase works are still not complete after so long.

The opposition says that despite the heavy spending on the first phase, not everyone in the area covered is getting the benefit of the scheme. It has claimed that only 15 per cent of the city's housing societies are connected to the underground sewerage. It has also been pointed out that some treatment plants are shut, yet money is still being spent on their maintenance and repair.

The question of the city's wastewater being released untreated directly into the creek has also been raised. It is said that more than Rs 1,500 crore has been collected from residents as sewerage tax over the past few years. This has led to questions about the actual work done under the scheme and how the money was spent.

During the first phase, the administration had said the scheme could not be implemented in Rai, Murdha and some other areas because of geographical conditions. It is now said that the same areas are planned to be included in the second phase. The opposition is asking how the geographical conditions that were an obstacle earlier have now become favourable.

The opposition also asks why there was such haste to sanction Rs 476 crore for the second phase when the first-phase works needed to be completed and their benefits delivered to people. It also objected to whether the provisions of the second-phase DPR, the plan of works and the details of expenditure were placed before the general body with full clarity.

Demands are growing for public disclosure of the present state of the first-phase works, the working capacity of the treatment plants, the number of societies actually connected and the expenditure so far. The opposition's stand is that the first phase should be evaluated separately before the second phase is approved, and that accountability should be fixed for the unfinished works.

Congress corporator Anil Sawant said: "Despite spending around Rs 800 crore in the first phase, the underground sewerage scheme has not been completed. Many societies in the city are still not connected to the scheme. There are complaints that some sewage treatment plants are shut. In such a situation, why the haste to approve the Rs 476-crore DPR for the second phase again?"

He added: "Account for the first-phase works. The administration should disclose how much work was completed, how many societies actually benefited and where the money collected from people as sewerage tax was finally spent. The areas such as Rai, Murdha and others where geographical difficulties were cited in the first phase are the very ones now being included in the second phase. So why could work not be done in these areas earlier? Did the geographical conditions change, or did the administration's stance change?"

Sawant also said: "We are not opposed to development works in the second phase, but accounts and accountability for past works must be fixed. Waste of public tax money will not be tolerated. Our demand is that a separate audit of the first phase be held and its report placed before the public."

Residents of Mira-Bhayandar are now watching how much the Rs 476-crore project will actually improve the management of the city's wastewater, and what steps the administration will take to ensure the first phase's shortcomings are not repeated.