The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has purchased a plot admeasuring 69,000 sqmt at Rajivnagar here for setting up the city's largest sewage treatment plant (STP) with a capacity of 78 MLD (million litres per day).
The proposed STP will come up at a total cost of Rs 104 crore, Municipal Commissioner H S Patel said.
"At present, there are total seven sewage treatment plants (STPs) located in various parts of the city whose total sewage treatment capacity is 276 MLD. This is insufficient in meeting the requirements of the city population of nearly 20 lakhs," he told PTI.
Besides that, several villages located around the city have been merged with it in the past. Looking at the increase in city population, it will require a sewage treatment capacity of 358 MLD by 2030. So it underlines the need for another STP plant, he said.
Several corporate giants like Reliance, Larsen & Toubro, ONGC, GSFC, Indian Oil corporation-owned Gujarat Refinery and many educational institutes are located on the eastern part of the city.
Due to this and other reasons, it was felt that a new STP plant can be set up to cater to the ever increasing needs of the eastern area of the city, Patel added.
Dr Jigisha Sheth, Chairperson of the VMC Standing Committee, said the meeting held late last evening unanimously approved the proposal of the Municipal Commissioner for setting up of this plant.
"The plant will treat sewage up to parameters that will have levels of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and Total Suspended Solids that will be suitable for the crocodile park, which is to be set up on the bank of Vishwamitri river passing through the city," she said.
The Gujarat government has already made a provision of Rs 10 crore in the budget of current fiscal year (2016-17) which is approved by the assembly.
Two existing STP plants in Harni and Ajwa road area of the city with a capacity of 43 MLD is insufficient to handle the sewage load and hence the standing committee gave its approval for new STP in Rajivnagar area, Sheth said.
She said it will also solve the problem of overdraw of drainage.
