Mumbai: After spending Rs 1400 cr, BMC is still far from cleaning up Mithi river

Thirty-seven small STPs are needed along the Mithi. File pics

The state Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has slammed the BMC for not setting up sewage treatment plants along the Mithi river yet, leading to extreme pollution. The report tabled in the monsoon session cited a June 2006 IIT-B report that had suggested construction of 37 small STPs along with river to stop entry of untreated sewage.

Mithi river came under the spotlight after the 2005 deluge

"In December 2013, the MPCB (Maharashtra Pollution Control Board) had approved IIT-B's report of setting up STPs. But continuing to cite financial issues, encroachment and slum rehabilitation since then till July 2016, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has done nothing to implement the recommendations," states the CAG report.

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As per the report, the city generates about 2,146 million litres sewage daily. Of this, about 49 per cent is discharged into the sea without any treatment. It also states that 219 million litres of untreated sewage is discharged in Mithi river alone everyday.

Choc-a-bloc
One of the longest rivers in the city, running for 17.84 km through Andheri, Kalina, Sakinaka, Kurla, Bandra and then entering Mahim creek, it came under the spotlight after the July 26, 2005, deluge.

The BMC and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, under whose jurisdiction it falls, had then taken up cleaning, deepening and widening of the river choked with silt, garbage, and sewage. So far, the BMC has spent about R659 crore on cleaning the waterbody.

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The CAG also pointed out that discharge of untreated sewage in Mithi had led to contamination of seawater near Mahim creek.

In 2011-13, the MPCB had prepared a report that highlighted the extreme increase in Biochemical Oxygen Demand in seawater - against the standard 3 mg/l, the level found was between 33.7 mg/l and 71.7 mg/l.

A senior civic official from the stormwater drain department said, "This year, the civic body has made a provision of Rs 24 crore in its budget to set up STPs along the river.

Ideally, there should only be rainwater discharge, but the many industrial and commercial establishments and slums along the banks discharge sewage directly into the river."

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Officials said they were working on installing treatment plants at such locations.

Originating from Vihar lake, there are at least 40 locations from where sewage is discharged into the river without any treatment.

Money down the drain?
RTI activist Anil Galgali, who has been following up on the clean-up for a long time, said, "For the last three years, the Mithi River Development and Protection Authority, set up to look after its restoration to avoid a repeat of 2005, has not met even once. The authority is headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. This shows how serious officials are about cleaning the river."

"Both MMRDA and BMC have spent more than Rs 1,400 crore on cleaning the river, but there's been no audit done of this expenditure. It needs to come out why, even after spending such a huge amount, not a single STP has been constructed along the river yet," he added.

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