Nag river cleanup stalled: Rs 1,926.99 crore project still on paper three years after Centre's nod

More than three years have passed since the Union Jal Shakti Ministry approved the Rs 1,926.99 crore Nag River Pollution Abatement Project, meant to save Nagpur's Nag river from years of pollution and neglect. Even so, the project remains largely stuck in files, tender processes and administrative formalities. No major work is visible along the river.

The scope of the project is large. It involves laying a 520-km sewerage network, building three sewage treatment plants (STPs) with a combined capacity of 92 million litres per day (MLD) and installing seven new pumping stations. Interception and diversion work is also to be carried out to stop untreated wastewater from flowing into the river.

The cost is split three ways. The Centre will bear 60 per cent, the Maharashtra government 25 per cent and the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) the remaining 15 per cent. Despite the funding being settled, no construction work has been seen so far.

The project has been divided into five contract packages (CP). So far, only package CP-5 has seen some work, and it is not related to sewerage. It is a Rs 1.32 crore job on an electric crematorium at Mokshdham, and has no direct bearing on stopping wastewater, treating it or saving the river.

Package CP-3, worth Rs 253.17 crore and covering the sewer network in the North Zone, has reached the stage of issuing a letter of intent (LOI) after technical scrutiny of bids. Package CP-4 is still stuck in the tender process. CP-2, for building the sewage treatment plants, has an estimated cost of Rs 415.79 crore, and its draft tender documents are being examined.

The greatest concern is over package CP-1. Worth Rs 411.72 crore, it covers the essential interception and diversion work. At present, initial surveys and the preparation of drawings and designs are under way. Without this work, the main aim of stopping wastewater from entering the river cannot be met. In other words, the most important components, the sewer network, treatment plants and interception, are still far from being realised on the ground.

Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE) was appointed project management consultant in late 2024, in the hope that it would speed up the work. Even after the appointment, however, there is no sign of preparation for civil work in the project area. Without a sewerage network, an interception system and adequate treatment capacity, wastewater will remain a threat to the river.

NMC Executive Engineer Rajesh Dufare explained the timeline. According to him, the total sanctioned duration of the project is eight years, but the corporation wants to speed up the work and finish everything in five years. Dufare said, "The total sanctioned duration of the project is eight years, but the corporation aims to speed up the work and complete all of it in five years. Initial surveys and the tender process are under way."

According to sources, physical work on the remaining major sewerage and sewage treatment works is likely to begin in the next financial year, after the technical scrutiny of CP-3. A great deal of time has already passed between approval and implementation. That the major work is to begin only in the next financial year also raises questions over the five-year target.

The question now is not how big the project looks on paper, but when the people of Nagpur will see machines, workers, sewer lines and treatment plants on the ground. Until the sewerage network is laid, the treatment plants are built and wastewater is stopped, the condition of the Nag river will not improve.