Pune News : Pune rivers rejuvenation project to be completed by March 2025, says Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

India is investing $240 billion in the water sector, the most in the world, says Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti in Pune. 

Pune : The Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat
at the inaugural DHARA 2023, of the two-day international meeting on strategies for managing urban rivers, at Pune, announced that the Pune rivers rejuvenation project will be completed by March 2025.

The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) are organizing the annual meeting of the members of the RCA on 13-14 February 2023, in Hyatt Hotel, Kalyani Nagar, Pune. This has been named DHARA 2023 (Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers).

Presiding over the press conference of DHARA 2023, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Minister of Jal Shakti, said: “Restoration of rivers is a major area we are working on in Maharashtra, and in this light the efforts of the Pune Municipal Corporations are commendable as we have been able to make significant progress. We were successful in overcoming and resolving the primary issue of land allocation for 11 sewage treatment units. I would like to thank Maharashtra & Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister for intervening to ensure the early completion of our efforts and to reassure Punekars about this long-awaited project.”

The river rejuvenation project will clean the Mula, Mutha, and Mula-Mutha (confluence of both rivers) rivers. It will thereby improve water quality by supplementing sewage collection systems. The sewage treatment plant will be implemented, and the funds will be used to improve cleanliness in the Pune Municipal Corporation area. The project would include 55 kilometres of trunk lines and 11 new sewage treatment units with a capacity of 396 million litres per day.

“After the foundation stone of the project was laid by our Hon’ble Prime Minister last year, six bids were received and now the work order has been issued. We are on our way towards achieving the target of rejuvenating these rivers for the historically significant city of Pune in a sustainable and timely manner. We have planned for the completion of this project by March 2025,” said Shekhawat.

The Minister added that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) aims to ensure that treatment parameters from the outlet will be meeting the Central Pollution Control Board norms after this project. It is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) while National River Conservative Directorate (NRCD) has given the grant to PMC. The total cost of the project is ₹1,474 crore with ₹1,174 being the capital expenditure while ₹300 crore is operation and maintenance cost for the entire project for 15 years once inaugurated.

Meanwhile, twelve cities were onboarded as part of the River Cities Alliance (RCA) on Monday, February 13  at the inaugural DHARA 2023. Nashik and Nanded Waghala from Maharashtra are part of these 12 cities. RCA initially had 30 cities during its launch on November 25, 2021, which increased to 95 cities last year, and now 107 cities are part of this alliance.

The purpose of RCA is to provide a platform for the Commissioners, Executive Officers, and senior officials of member cities to discuss and co-learn good practices for managing urban rivers.

DHARA 2023 (Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers), the annual meeting of the RCA members, has been organized by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) on 13-14 February in Pune.
Chandrakant Pulkundwar, Municipal Commissioner, Nashik Municipal Corporation said: “To prevent water pollution in Godavari, we are planning to treat the waste water flowing through 19 nallas before it reaches Godavri. In these efforts, we are roping in active participation from local citizens, and also taking help from National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B). In an effort to put in place long term measures, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) is being prepared for the Namami Godavari Project. Hopefully, the DPR will be ready in about three months. After that it will be submitted to the Ministry of Jalshakti.All the works for abating pollution and riverfront beautification proposed in Namami Godavari will be completed before Sinhastha of 2027.”

The first day of DHARA 2023 saw Urban River Management Plans of Ayodhya and Aurangabad being released by the Hon’ble Minister along with city representatives as well as the new alliance member cities inducted into RCA.

The Hon’ble Minister of Jal Shakti, Shri Shekhawat further stressed that with India’s G20 Presidency and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for making India a developed nation by 2047, India has the opportunity to showcase its efforts to the world. “India is now investing the most in the water sector in the world, totaling $240 billion. This includes efforts to connect rivers, identify, assess, and recharge groundwater, conduct one of the worlds largest aquifer mapping programmes, and create a Watervision 2047 for all states in which water security and management is at par with economic development.”