The Hindu 15.12.2010
WB aid for cleaning water body
T. Lalith Singh
Noor Mohammad Kunta is used by industries in the vicinity for dumping effluents
The tank is said to have considerable metal deposits which flow downstream
HYDERABAD: Noor Mohammad Kunta, the highly polluted water body at Katedan Industrial Area, would be taken up for remediation as part of a pilot project with financial assistance from World Bank.
For the Capacity Building and Industrial Pollution Management Project (CBIPMP), a team from the World Bank had visited the water body on Thursday and the implementing agency, Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) is in the process of appointing consultants. The water body which for long was used by the industries in the vicinity for dumping effluents and had environmentalists raising a hue and cry given the high levels of metal presence, has already been provided with a sewerage treatment plant (STP).
The tank is said to have considerable metal deposits which flows downstream. Now, the project aims at remediation on pilot basis with plans to replicate the same with other polluted water bodies later. “We have sought expression of intent from experienced consultants for a design study on remediation to be taken up,” PCB member secretary K. Madhusudana Rao said. Once the list of responses is screened initially and a consultant is approved by the World Bank, a design study could be in place in about three to four months.
For the five-year CBIPMP in the State, the World Bank has approved a total cost of $ 40.69 million.
The APPCB has also sought consulting service for the Kadapa project to assess the level and nature of contamination for groundwater, surface water and soil apart from carrying out detailed investigations and preparation of a technical and engineering design for closure and containment of the site.
