Thane: The Thane BJP has raised environmental concerns, alleging that a huge volume of sludge generated from the 120 MLD capacity sewage treatment plant at Kopri is stealthily being discharged into nearby drains, causing irreversible damage to the mangroves in the area.The observations were made by BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar after a site visit along with MLC Niranjan Davkhare and local corporators. Kelkar said the team was found that the facility was treating barely 5 MLD of its targeted volume of 120 MLD and, despite this, the Thane Municipal Corporation was paying a hefty Rs 10 crore to the contractor annually for operating the facility.The project, located near Kanhaiya Nagar, was developed under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. Work began in 2021 and was expected to be completed within a year. However, the plant has till date not become fully operational.“Despite having a capacity to treat 120 MLD (million litres per day) of wastewater, the plant is currently producing only about 5 MLD of treated water. The project was intended to scientifically process sewage and generate revenue by selling treated water, but nothing has been achieved so far, due to which the sludge generated from the treatment process is being dumped into nearby drains and mangrove areas, causing ecological damage. This is also flooding nearby Thanekarwadi area during monsoon,” alleged Kelkar.The BJP legislator claimed that both the contractor and municipal administration are attempting to shift responsibility onto each other. “The project was also supposed to supply the treated water for construction, gardens, MIDC areas and industries to create revenue streams. However, that objective has failed and the project has turned out to be a “white elephant.” Though the corporation is not earning any revenue from it, we are paying nearly Rs 10 crore annually to the contractor,” he said.A response from municipal commissioner Saurabh Rao was awaited till the time of the paper going to press.
