Panaji: After several attempts to rejuvenate the St Inez creek, and using up central and international funds, the Corporation of the City of Panaji (CCP) wants to make yet another attempt at breathing life into the city’s key water body. Mayor Rohit Monserrate chaired a meeting with govt departments on Wednesday, where he set a six-month deadline to appoint a consultant who can prepare a “comprehensive” detailed project report to help revive the creek.“We have to have a detailed project report,” said Monserrate. “St Inez and Mala are connected to the sewerage network, but people are still releasing sewage into water bodies. We need to understand why. Until then, nothing can be resolved.”In mid-2019, as part of the Smart City Mission, Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd (IPSCDL) submitted a report to state govt indicating that overloading of the sewerage treatment plant (STP) at Tonca and dumping of sewage in the creek are partly responsible for its putrid nature.The Asian Development Bank, under its cities development initiative for Asia, sanctioned funds to rejuvenate the creek.Years before that, in March 2014, the Union ministry of urban development sanctioned Rs 19.5 crore to the CCP to revive the creek and remove the sludge.
