Patna: The state’s largest sewage treatment plant (STP), with a capacity of 400 MLD, is set to be constructed in Patna. Following a Namami Gange meeting in Delhi, the urban development and housing department directed the Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (Buidco) to initiate the project.Patna divisional commissioner and managing director of Buidco, Animesh Kumar Parashar, said, “The idea of constructing the STPs is so that all the drains across the city are ‘tapped’ so that no contaminated water flows into the river without treatment. The process is to first intercept the existing drains and then divert them to the STP, where the sewage water is treated and processed and then released into the Ganga.”According to Sweta Bhasker, Buidco PRO, Buidco surveyed areas from Digha to Didarganj and proposed locations between Danapur and Patna City for the construction of this STP. The final site awaits approval from higher authorities. Design plans will determine whether the project consists of one 400 MLD unit or two 200 MLD units. The new infrastructure will connect the drains in Digha, Kurji, Rajapur, Mandiri, Anta Ghat and Mittan Ghat using an interception-and-diversion system. To minimise public disruption, the project will utilise existing channels and avoid new excavations in narrow streets.The state currently manages 39 STPs with a total budget of Rs 7,752 crore. Plans are underway to increase the total number of plants to 45. This expansion targets the approximately 1,100 MLD of sewage water discharged in Bihar’s Ganga towns.A senior official managing the project said that out of the 39 existing projects, 21 are functional in districts including Munger, Bhagalpur, Chhapra and Patna. The city of Patna currently operates four plants in Beur, Saidpur, Karmalichak and Pahadi, while facilities in Digha and Kankarbagh are partially functional. Thirteen STPs are under implementation in districts such as Motihari, Supaul, Jamui and Rohtas, among others. These are scheduled for completion within the next two years. Five projects in Buxar, Muzaffarpur, Katihar, Arrah and Lakhisarai remain in the tender phase.Construction and operational set-up for these plants typically require three years. Beyond the 400 MLD Patna project, five additional STPs are under process in Khagaria, Jamalpur, Barauni, Samastipur and Gaya. The urban development and housing department prioritised the tapping of all major drains to prevent untreated discharge into the Ganga.
