Improved sewerage infrastructure in Shimla soon

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 3

The Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Limited (SJPNL) is ramping up the sewerage infrastructure in Shimla and peri-urban areas.

Apart from upgrading and retrofitting the existing six sewage treatment plants (STPs), the water procurement and distribution company has prepared a detailed project report (DPR) of Rs 227 crore to replace 4-inch sewerage pipes with 6-inch pipes for uninterrupted flow of the sewage.

“The DPR had been prepared and it will be sent to Delhi for clearance,” said an SJPNL official.

Apart from the six existing STPs, two more are under construction at Totu and Ashwani Khud, while two at Dhalli-II and Mashobra are in the pipeline. The DPRs for the proposed STPs, which will cost around Rs 22 crore, have been prepared. “The three STPs at Lalpani, Malyana and Dhalli are being upgraded with the latest SBR technology and over 80 per cent work has been completed,” said RK Verma, GM, SJPNL. “The work of retrofitting of STPs at the IGMC, North Disposal and Summer Hill has been awarded,” said Verma.

While the company is pushing for the upgradation of sewerage infrastructure, it’s struggling to recover arrears from the consumers. As per the company officials, the arrears stood at Rs 39 crore two months back. “As many as 54 defaulters owe company arrears over Rs 5 lakh. A total of 5.80 crore arrears are due from these 54 connections alone,” said a company official.

Meanwhile, Verma said efforts were afoot to address the grievances of people regarding the bill amount at the earliest. “We have formed a special unit headed by an AGM to address the grievances regarding the bill amount. People need to contact the AGM office, and immediate action will be taken to address their concerns,” said Verma. “Most of the bills are correct. A few days back, someone getting a bill of Rs 9 lakh got a wide publicity. On rechecking, we found the bill was correct, and the owner had not paid the bill since 2017-18,” said Verma.

Verma said people were actually getting lower bills since volumetric bills were being issued.

“Around 10,000 of our consumers are getting monthly bills of less than Rs 200. Another 6,000 consumers are getting bills of around Rs 400,” Verma said.

6 STPs to be urgraded, 4 more to come up

• Six sewage treatment plants (STPs) are being upgraded and retrofitted. The three STPs at Lalpani, Malyana and Dhalli are being upgraded with the latest SBR technology and over 80 per cent work has been completed
• The work of retrofitting of STPs at the IGMC, North Disposal and Summer Hill has been awarded. Two more STPs are under construction at Totu and Ashwani Khud, while two at Dhalli-II and Mashobra are in the pipeline