Mumbai: After spending Rs 1400 cr, BMC is still far from cleaning up Mithi river

Thirtyseven small STPs are needed along the Mithi File picsThe state Comptroller and Auditor General CAG has slammed the BMC for not setting up sewage treatment plants along the Mithi river yet leading to extreme pollution The report tabled in the monsoon session cited a June 2006 IITB report that had suggested construction of 37 small STPs along with river to stop entry of untreated sewageMithi river came under the spotlight after the 2005 delugeIn December 2013 the MPCB Maharashtra Pollution Control Board had approved IITBs report of setting up STPs But continuing to cite financial issues encroachment and slum rehabilitation since then till July 2016 the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has done nothing to implement the recommendations states the CAG reportAlso read Mithi river banks to transform into gardens in six monthsAs per the report the city generates about 2146 million litres sewage daily Of this about 49 per cent is discharged into the sea without any treatment It also states that 219 million litres of untreated sewage is discharged in Mithi river alone everydayChocablocOne of the longest rivers in the city running for 1784 km through Andheri Kalina Sakinaka Kurla Bandra and then entering Mahim creek it came under the spotlight after the July 26 2005 delugeThe BMC and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority under whose jurisdiction it falls had then taken up cleaning deepening and widening of the river choked with silt garbage and sewage So far the BMC has spent about R659 crore on cleaning the waterbodyAlso read Locals along Mithi no longer need to hold their nosesThe CAG also pointed out that discharge of untreated sewage in Mithi had led to contamination of seawater near Mahim creekIn 201113 the MPCB had prepared a report that highlighted the extreme increase in Biochemical Oxygen Demand in seawater against the standard 3 mgl the level found was between 337 mgl and 717 mglA senior civic official from the stormwater drain department said This year the civic body has made a provision of Rs 24 crore in its budget to set up STPs along the riverIdeally there should only be rainwater discharge but the many industrial and commercial establishments and slums along the banks discharge sewage directly into the riverAlso read Mumbai Makeover Soon you could enjoy a walkway cycle trail over Mithi RiverOfficials said they were working on installing treatment plants at such locationsOriginating from Vihar lake there are at least 40 locations from where sewage is discharged into the river without any treatmentMoney down the drainRTI activist Anil Galgali who has been following up on the cleanup for a long time said For the last three years the Mithi River Development and Protection Authority set up to look after its restoration to avoid a repeat of 2005 has not met even once The authority is headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis This shows how serious officials are about cleaning the riverBoth MMRDA and BMC have spent more than Rs 1400 crore on cleaning the river but theres been no audit done of this expenditure It needs to come out why even after spending such a huge amount not a single STP has been constructed along the river yet he addedAlso view Genitals chopped off private parts mutilated 11 gruesome crime cases