Pune News: Aundh Sewage Treatment Plant Gains Approval for Heritage Land Use After Five-Year Delay
Pune News: Aundh Sewage Treatment Plant Gains Approval for Heritage Land Use After Five-Year Delay
Pune, November 1, 2024: Following a five-year delay, the proposed sewage treatment plant (STP) at Aundh, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has received preliminary approval for de-reserving 0.33 hectares from a biodiversity heritage site. The Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV) executive council recently approved this step, marking significant progress for the Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) Mula-Mutha pollution abatement project.
The 33-acre site, designated a biodiversity heritage area in 2020, includes a section of Aundh’s Botanical Garden. While formal de-reservation requires approval from the Maharashtra Biodiversity Heritage Board and the central government, the PMC has requested provisional permission to commence construction on the STP, pending the procedural changes.
Once completed, the JICA-supported STP project will add 396 million liters per day (MLD) of sewage treatment capacity to Pune’s existing 477 MLD, targeting completion by 2025. This enhancement is expected to significantly reduce pollution in the Mula-Mutha river by treating all city-generated sewage and ensuring only treated water enters the river.
