FMDA to hand over work on upkeep of main sewer lines to civic body

The decision to hand over the work regarding the maintenance of major sewer lines in the city to the Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority (FMDA) has been reversed. The authorities have decided to take back the work from the FMDA and allot it to the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad (MCF), say sources in the civic administration. The work to maintain around one-third of 640-km main lines has been handed over to the MC to improve the basic civic infrastructure.

The decision has been reversed a year after the allotment of the work to the FMDA. According to sources, the authorities are facing confusion and hurdles in dealing with issues in many areas. Difficulties in demarcating work due to the interlinking of sewer lines have led to issues in addressing the problems in a swift manner,” said an official, adding that a decision to this effect had been taken recently.

While the work on the maintenance of the minor sewer lines had been handed over to the MCF, the responsibility for the major lines (diameter of 600 mm or above) had been handed over to the FMDA, which had been come into being in 2021. One-third of over 600-km long network had been under the jurisdiction of the FMDA since December 2023, said an official.

The FMDA, which took up the cleaning work of the main sewer lines, has so far cleaned over 35-km network. It proposes to clean around 100-km lines in the first phase. It is for the first time that the cleaning project of the sewerage, laid around 50 to 55 years ago, has been taken up. The work involves the cleaning of the main lines connected to the sewage treatment plants (STPs) here.

The FMDA is also due to take over the upkeep of the two STPs having a capacity of 180 MLD at Pratapgarh and Mirzapur villages. These have been upgraded by the MCF at a cost of Rs 240 crore. However, the work of handling the main water supply from the Ranneywells (set up on the banks of the Yamuna river) will be looked after by the FMDA, which has announced to set up 22 new Ranneywells to boost up the water availability here. At present, the city is facing a shortage of over 150 MLD of water.

MCF Chief Engineer Birender Kardam said the maintenance work of major sewer lines is likely to be handed over to the civic body next month.