The Hindu 09.11.2009
Sewage plant may be set up on GCDA land
Staff Reporter
| Plant to have treatment capacity of 23 million litres a day |
Final decision on land on November 18
The plant may become operational in 12 months
KOCHI: The deadlock over the allocation of land for a sewage treatment plant at West Kochi may soon end paving way for the setting up of the plant.
The Kochi corporation had earlier identified a property owned by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) at Mundamveli, West Kochi, for the project. However, the GCDA was reportedly not in favour of giving the land to the civic body. According to indications, a consensus has been reached at the government level for setting up the plant there without divesting the ownership of the land from the GCDA.
The government is toying with the idea of allotting the required land to the Kochi Corporation on lease or some similar schemes, civic authorities said. It would require around five hectares for setting up the plant.
The proposed sewage treatment plant at West Kochi will have an installed capacity of treating 23 million litres a day.
The plant has been designed to cater to the needs of the central city and the West Kochi areas. Presently, only a few areas in the city are covered by the sewage treatment system. A final decision on the land for the project is expected to be taken at the meeting of the State-level empowered committee scheduled for November 18 for clearing the projects. The announcement regarding the land is expected to be made after the expiry of the model code of conduct which is in force following the Ernakulam bypoll.
The plant will be installed with the support of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission and the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP).
On its part, the KSUDP and the Kochi Corporation are moving ahead with the plant project and have examined the technical bid submitted by various agencies for establishing it. The financial bids submitted by the qualified agencies will be opened after the expiry of the code of conduct, authorities said.
If the work progresses as scheduled, the plant would become operational in 12 months time.
The work of developing a network of pipelines carrying sewage to the proposed plant from various parts of the city is also progressing. The laying of pipelines is being done in a phased manner, authorities said.
