Maharashtra govt accuses PMC of polluting Ujjani dam

Indian Express

4 days ago

Pressing to clear Rs 722 crore dues for additional use of water, the Maharashtra government on Monday accused the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) of polluting the Ujjani dam downstream of Mutha river by releasing untreated sewage water in the river.
The state water resource department minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil had convened a meeting to discuss the issues of his department with the PMC. This was attended by state minister Madhuri Misal and other city legislators including Hemant Rasane, Siddarth Shirole, Sunil Kamble, Bhimrao Tapkir and Bapu Pathare.
The state minister pointed out that the state government had approved 14 TMC water for Pune city to meet the demand of 80 lakh population, but the civic body was using 22 TMC water in a year. 'The consumption of water by Pune city is far above the set per capita use. This is leading to less water availability for irrigation purposes and 40,000 hectares of agricultural land in the rural part of Pune district is getting affected due to less water for irrigation,' said Vikhe Patil.
He said the PMC should recycle 80 percent of water it is consuming every year and make it available for irrigation and industries but it was only recycling 30 percent of the total consumption. 'The PMC has also admitted to leakage of water so it should reduce that. It should also recycle the water which will help it in reducing additional water consumption of 8 TMC,' minister said.
'Moreover, the PMC by releasing untreated sewage water in Mutha river is polluting the Ujjani dam downstream of the river. So, the pending dues of Rs 722 crore with PMC includes charges for additional use of water and penalty for polluting the river,' he alleged, adding that the urbanisation around Pune city is also polluting the dam water for which the state government is planning project to set up Sewage Treatment Plants for rural part villages alongside the river.
Pune city's water demands are increasing and the civic body is supplying water through 2000 tankers to the recently merged 32 villages in PMC limits, he said.
The PMC has different opinions on the issues so it has been decided to constitute a task force with top officials of PMC and the state water resource department to carry out detailed study and resolve the differences.
The study of leakages, steps for recycling more water, fixing the amount of pending dues, additional use of water will be discussed by the task force, Vikhe-Patil said adding that the encroachment of land by the state water resource department will also be studied and the land would be cleared to use for another purpose.
The district collector will take action against illegal structures alongside the Mutha river that are polluting the water body and the water resource department would take up desilting of dams, he also said that the state government would seek 10 TMC water from Mulshi dam to meet the increasing water demand of other areas witnessing rapid urbanisation.
The project for saving water through leakage, evaporation and theft from the canal has been taken up, and the environmental clearance for it will be obtained soon, Vikhe-Patil said, adding that the land that will be free after a tunnel canal is constructed.
BJP legislator Hemant Rasane said that there is a dispute between PMC and the state water resource department on the amount of water used by the civic body. 'It has been going on for a long time so we demanded a task force to study and resolve it. The PMC will soon set up sufficient capacity sewage treatment plants to only release treated water in Mutha river. However, there is urbanisation outside city limits which is also contributing to pollution,' he said.
Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast.
Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste.
Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter.
Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More