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Budget outlay for Mumbai’s drainage plan not sufficient
Our Bureau
Mumbai, July 7 The Budget announcement of an additional Rs 300 crore to speed up work on the Brihanmumbai Storm Water Drainage Project could just end up being a drop in the ocean as a lot more money would be needed for this exercise. All in all, Rs 500 crore has been earmarked for this project, initiated in 2007, when its estimated cost was Rs 1,200 crore.
Mr Bipin Patel, Executive Director, Ramky Infrastructure, told Business Line that Mumbai would require at least Rs 5,000-7,000 crore for a proper drainage system. “Drainage and sewer systems are built after factoring in population growth for the next 50 years. Large funds are needed to upgrade the system in Mumbai,” he said.
According to Mr Patel, if the city had better wastewater treatment plants, water could be recycled for non-drinking purposes. A smaller municipality, such as Thane near Mumbai, can have plans to sell recycled water to industries, he said.
Delay concerns
A senior State official said the drainage project was being delayed, which was worrying authorities. Continuous bickering between the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority over the finer points of its implementation was hardly helping the cause either, he added.
The Senior Director with ICICI Ventures, Mr Shailesh Pathak, welcomed the increase in funds for the project as it was the first major step taken after the July 26 flooding in 2005 to come out with a solution.
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