Latest news with #VivekVelankar
Time of India
a day ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Eight years on, construction work of overhead tanks for 24x7 water supply project yet to be completed
Pune: Eight years after its start, the construction of overhead water tanks for PMC's 24x7 water supply project is still progressing slowly. Only 25 out of the 82 tanks to be constructed for this project have been commissioned. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The civic body claimed to have completed construction of 66 tanks but said 41 are not in use because of issues pertaining to supply lines. According to civic officials, the land acquisition proved to be a taxing process, which caused delay in the project. "The civic administration is generating funds for the project. The funds will be used for building connecting lines between water tanks and taps of end users. The administration has planned to speed up the works," said Nandkishor Jagtap, the head of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC)'s water supply department. The civic body will spend around Rs 280 crore on building these tanks. The capacity of the tanks ranges from 20 lakh litres to 40 lakh litres. "The civic administration is not showing the will to complete the project in time. The project is aimed at providing 24x7 water to citizens. But the civic body has gone back on its promise and is promoting it as an equitable water supply project," said Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch, a citizens' group. "Residents of merged areas are waiting for water for years. The water tanks have been built, but these are not able to provide water as allied infrastructure is absent. If the infrastructure is not built, the water tanks will go to waste," said Shrirang Chavan of Haveli Taluka Kriti Samiti, a citizens' group from merged areas. Civic officials said that work of construction of 20 overhead tanks in 34 merged areas has been prioritized to resolve the problem of water scarcity. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The water storage capacity of these added areas will increase by around 3.5 crore litres after the construction of these tanks. The tanks will be built in areas like Ambegaon, Bavdhan, Sus, Mahalunge, Jambhulwadi, Wagholi, and Lohegaon. Twenty amenity spaces have been identified for construction of these facilities. A civic official said that construction of tanks is a major component of the project. About 700 of the 1,060-km distribution line has been laid, and the remaining work will begin in the next fiscal, an official said. Nearly 70% of the 3.14 lakh metre installations for residential use has been completed. The official said Rs 1,471 crore of the total project allocation of Rs 2,048 crore has been spent. Approximately 75% of the project has been completed. The remaining portions will be finished by Dec 2025, they said. Of the planned 141 water metre zones in the city, 72 are slated to be operational. The remaining work will be completed by March 2026.
Indian Express
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Bombay HC directs review of floodline of Mula-Mutha river in next two months
With no action to redraw the floodlines of Mula Mutha river in Pune despite court issuing directions for the same an year ago, the Bombay High Court has directed the court-appointed expert committee to review the existing demarcation of floodlines and submit a report to the state government within a period of two months so that it could take action as per the recommendations. Hearing a PIL by activists Sarang Yadwadkar, Vivek Velankar and Vijay Kumbhar, the bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne on Monday directed the expert committee to submit its report on review of demarcation of floodlines within the next two months. 'The state government, on receipt of the report, should take appropriate action on the recommendations of the expert committee within a further period of two months,' it said adding the petitioners can give their suggestions to the state government on the issue. In June last year, the high court had given an order that would have its impact on the development activities, including the Riverfront Development project, alongside Mula Mutha river. It had directed the state government to constitute an experts committee to undertake time bound review of demarcation of floodlines of Mula Mutha river in Pune by considering study of various organisations. The experts committee was to be formed within two weeks, which should have finalised the blueprint for undertaking comprehensive review of demarcation of floodlines in Pune within four weeks thereafter. The experts committee to be formed was headed by the Additional Chief Secretary of the state department of Water Resources Development. However, the Bombay High Court did not accept the request of petitioners to revoke permission for development of lands within 100 metre distance of the current flood lines concerned. 'The petitioners have not prosecuted any person who has raised any construction within 100 meters distance of current flood lines demarcated in the Development Plan of 2017. Therefore, this court is unable to issue any positive direction. However, the Pune Municipal Corporation should examine the issue and shall take action in accordance with law after affording an opportunity of hearing to the persons, who may be aggrieved by the proposed action, which may be taken by the Pune Municipal Corporation after receipt of directions from the state government issued after consideration of expert committee report,' it said. In its previous order, the court had suggested that a comprehensive review of the flood line demarcation process be conducted, taking into account the flow from the free catchment area, Nashik based Maharashtra Engineering Research Institute (MERI) guidelines, and Delhi based The Energy and Resources Institute's (TERI) climate change action plan. 'Addressing these aspects would contribute to a more accurate and comprehensive understanding of flood risk in the area,' it had said. It was revealed that the flow from the free catchment area between Khadakwasla dam and Mula-Mutha confluence in 2011 has not been considered. It was suggested that this factor should be taken into account in the flood line marking process. The petitioners have sought direction to Pune Municipal Corporation to replace the demarcation of flood lines in the 2017 Development Plan for Pune city and superimpose them with flood lines as demarcated in the maps dated March 5, 2011. Last year, the court had stated, 'Demarcation of flood lines in an urban area or a city like Pune assumes importance for the simple reason that in case, any development activity is permitted by the municipal body of such an urban area in the flood zone of any water channel like a river. The same results in reducing the flood carrying capacity of such a water channel, which, ultimately is the cause of flood. To ensure that the earth continues to remain habitable, it is thus very necessary to appropriately and correctly demarcate the flood line of water channels, failing which the inhabitants of the area may face problems beyond remedies.' Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More
Indian Express
26-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Building Pune: PMC to enhance sewage treatment capacity to ensure clean water discharge into Mula-Mutha river
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), which is struggling to treat the sewage generated within its jurisdiction and ensure clean water is released into the Mula-Mutha River, is set to enhance the sewage treatment facilities. The initiative that is aimed at meeting the projected demand of 1,092 million litres per day (MLD) for sewage treatment by 2027 will be developed through a Rs 842 crore fund, including Rs 506 crore approved by the Centre under the AMRUT 2.0 scheme. Currently, around 92 per cent of Pune city is covered through a sewerage network that spans 2,200 kilometres, which includes six intermediate pumping stations and 10 Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs). The cumulative treatment capacity of these plants is 567 MLD. However, the old STP at Naidu Hospital with a capacity of 90 MLD is demolished for the reconstruction of a 127 MLD plant. Hence, the effective treatment capacity is 477 MLD. This capacity will be increased by 396 MLD after the ongoing new STP projects funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are completed by 2027. 'The PMC plans to increase the capacity further with 10 MLD in the old city area, 12 MLD in the newly merged 11 villages, and 82 MLD in 23 merged villages. This will increase the sewage treatment capacity to 977 MLD by 2027 as against the estimated generation of 1,092 MLD to meet the requirement of the 70 lakh population of the city,' said Manisha Shekatkar, Chief Engineer of the PMC. Under the AMRUT scheme, the State and Central Governments are to bear 50 per cent of the expenses. With the population expected to rise to 92 lakh in 2037, the sewage treatment capacity for the city is estimated to be 1,450 MLD. By 2047, the capacity should be 1,072 MLD to cater to a population of 1.1 crores. As part of the plans under AMRUT 2.0, he said the existing STP of 130 MLD at Bhairoba, constructed in 2003, will be demolished to develop a new STP of 200 MLD capacity. The STP at Tanajiwadi will be demolished to make way for a new 26 MLD STP and enhancement of 18 MLD STP to 28 MLD STP at Bopodi. Upgrades will also be carried out at 115 MLD STP at New Naidu, 50 MLD STP at Erandwane, and 32 MLD STP at Vithalwadi. 'The objective is to ensure that the treated wastewater is able to meet the discharge parameters, extend the life of existing STPs, and improves the quality of treated wastewater for reuse and implement green initiatives by developing a compressed biogas system for large capacity STPs,' she said. Civic activist Vivek Velankar said there are new standards set for treated sewage water, which has to be maintained by the civic body. He expressed concern over the lack of capacity to treat the entire sewage generated, as the untreated water goes into the river. 'The city consumes around 1,800 MLD of water. So sewage generated will be at least 1,500 MLD, but the PMC estimate is well below the actual consumption of domestic water in the city. Moreover, the PMC is somehow approaching its estimated wastewater generation in 2027, which means some amount of untreated water will continue to be released into the river and pollute the water body. In reality, water consumption is going to increase with the rise in population. Hence, the PMC should plan for the next 20 years from now rather than for just two years,' he said. Ajay Jadhav is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, Pune. He writes on Infrastructure, Politics, Civic issues, Sustainable Development and related stuff. He is a trekker and a sports enthusiast. Ajay has written research articles on the Conservancy staff that created a nationwide impact in framing policy to improve the condition of workers handling waste. Ajay has been consistently writing on politics and infrastructure. He brought to light the lack of basic infrastructure of school and hospital in the hometown of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde even as two private helipads were developed by the leader who mostly commutes from Mumbai to Satara in helicopter. Ajay has been reporting on sustainable development initiatives that protects the environment while ensuring infrastructure development. ... Read More
Hindustan Times
06-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Pune civic body fails to print 40% discount on property tax bills, again
While the state government and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) have approved a 40% discount in property tax for Punekars residing in their own homes, the corporation failed to print the same on property tax bills for 2025-26, inviting the ire of citizens and civic activists. Civic activist Vivek Velankar said, 'We had put forth the demand that the 40% discount be printed on property tax bills and the same was accepted by the municipal commissioner and PMC staff. However, when I received my own property tax bill, I saw it did not have any such column.' 'PMC officials are intentionally creating confusion among taxpayers. The PMC had all the information on its computers. It was not rocket science to print the discount on the bills. It would have been helpful for citizens to understand whether or not they are getting it. If anyone isn't getting this benefit, they will be able to apply to the PMC for the same. But the PMC once again failed to print it. Even last year, the civic body had done the same and sent the bills without mentioning the 40% discount on property tax,' Velankar said.
