95% rejuvenation done, Buddha Nullah close to turn into river

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, December 27

With almost 95 per cent work on the ongoing rejuvenation project already complete, the highly-polluted Buddha Nullah, a seasonal tributary of the Sutlej flowing in Ludhiana, would soon turn into the Buddha river, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has said.

As the capital work on the Rs 840-crore project is slated for completion this year-end, one of the most polluted water bodies, running almost parallel to the Sutlej through most of Ludhiana district, including 14-km in Ludhiana city, which it bisects into two parts, before merging with the Sutlej, would shed the infamous tag of “nullah”, officials have claimed.

The first-of-its-type project had missed five deadlines to complete the capital work after facing teething problems and adversely hit due to COVID restrictions during the initial months after launch in December 2020.

With the project already achieving 95 per cent completion, the fresh deadline has been fixed as December 31.

Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana, Sanjeev Arora, told The Tribune, here on Wednesday that the rejuvenation of the Buddha Nullah had been taken up on topmost priority and the work was progressing fast to meet the fresh deadline.

Arora, who reviewed the progress of the project, was apprised by MC Commissioner Sandeep Rishi that several components of the project had already been completed while rest of them were in the advanced stage of completion and the pace of the ongoing work had been further accelerated to complete it by December 31.

He said a sum of Rs 538.55 crore had been spent so far, which had already exceeded the total estimated capital work cost of Rs 519 crore while a sum of Rs 21.6 crore, which was 80.63 per cent of the total Rs 26.79 crore earmarked as operation and maintenance cost for construction period had also been paid to the executing agency. Besides, Rs 294 crore would be spent on operation and maintenance cost for another 10 years after completion of the construction.

While the project amount as per DPR (detailed project report) was Rs 650 crore, the work was awarded at Rs 839.79 crore, which included Rs 519 crore for capital work and Rs 320.79 crore as operation and maintenance cost. Besides, Rs 22 crore was earmarked as a provisional sum.

The MC chief informed ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member in the Upper House of Parliament from Punjab that of the two new sewage treatment plants (STPs) being constructed, a 225-MLD capacity STP at Jamalpur, which was the biggest such facility in the state, and another 60-MLD capacity STP at Balloke had already been established. While the Jamalpur plant had also been made functional and has been working satisfactorily, the Balloke STP was under stabilisation process with 30-MLD flow presently being treated.

Under the domestic effluent management of the project, six intermediate pumping stations (IPSs) on the banks of the Buddha Nullah were being installed, of which two units —12-MLD capacity at Tibba and 8-MLD capacity at Sundar Nagar — had been established and were under trial run, while majority of the work had been completed on the 5-MLD capacity IPS at Kundanpuri, 13-MLD capacity at Upkar Nagar, LMH IPS, and another IPS near gaushala, which have been targeted to be completed by August 31 next.

The project also entails rehabilitation and repair of existing STPs and pumping stations under which the work on three STPs and MPSs, including 105-MLD capacity at Balloke, 50-MLD capacity at Bhattian and another 111-MLD capacity STP and MPS at Bhattian, had already been completed and they have been working satisfactorily, while the rehabilitation of 152-MLD capacity STP and MPS at Balloke was still under progress and will be completed by December 31.

To check the 137-MLD industrial effluent discharge into the nullah, all industrial units have either been connected to common effluent treatment plants (CETPs) or had installed their own captive effluent treatment plants (ETPs). Of the major effluent discharge contributors, 105 MLD effluent was discharged by three dyeing clusters, 17 MLD by 12 large scale dyeing units, 9 MLD by 16 scattered and 26 dyeing units of Industrial Area-A, 0.5-MLD by electroplating units, while 6 MLD industrial effluent was discharged by other miscellaneous industries such as milk plants, garment washing units, breweries, beverages, commercial establishments and service stations.

Under industrial waste management, three CETPs had been installed recently, which were being operated by the Punjab Dyeing Association under the supervision of the Punjab Pollution Control Board. These included 50-MLD and 40-MLD capacity two CETPs on Jail Road for Tajpur Road and Focal Point area industries while another 15-MLD capacity CETP was made functional on Bahadurke Road to cover the industries in the area.

Besides, the work on dairy waste management has also picked up pace on construction of two ETPs for handling liquid waste from the dairy complex. While 37 per cent work had been completed on 3.75-MLD capacity ETP at Haibowal, 35 per cent work had been achieved on another 2.25-MLD capacity plant on Tajpur Road with a target to complete them till December 31.

The laying of pipeline along Buddha Nullah banks had already been completed by placing 6,475 m on the west side, 4,944 m on east side and 650 m from Kundanpuri to Upkar Nagar.

Close to clean water body: MP

“We have moved close to give a new lease of life to the dirty Buddha Nullah and turn it into Buddha Dariya by ensuring that only treated domestic waste water or fresh or storm-water may flow into the Sutlej tributary. Our aim is to stop all sources of pollution in the entire Sutlej. The project has been taken up on top priority and will be completed in the next couple of months.” — Sanjeev Arora, RS MP

Missed deadlines

The work, which was awarded to a Mumbai-based joint venture group at a capital cost of Rs 519 crore, besides the operation and maintenance cost of Rs 321 crore, was initially scheduled to be completed by December 1, 2022, which was missed and later, the extended deadlines of March, May, June, and August 2023, had also not been met.

Brainchild of former Chief Secretary

Brainchild of the then Chief Secretary, Vini Mahajan, the project was launched by the then Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government to check the existing 625 MLD untreated domestic waste water discharged directly into the nullah and the future discharge, if any.

The major work under the rejuvenation of the 47.55-km-long Buddha Nullah had been awarded for domestic waste water management.

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