Ludhiana: Buddha Nullah rejuvenation project misses deadline again

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, February 13

The wait for the highly-polluted Buddha Nullah, a seasonal tributary of the Sutlej flowing in Ludhiana, to turn into Buddha river continues as the Rs 840-crore project has missed another deadline, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has said.

Project report

DPR amount 650

Awarded amount 839.79

Capital work cost 519

Expenditure incurred 538.55

O&M cost for 21 months 26.79

O&M cost for 10 years 294

Project started: December 2, 2020

Missed deadlines:

December 2022, March, May, June, August, December 2023

Fresh deadline: March 31

Progress till date: 97%

(Source: MC, amount in rupees crore)

With the civic body claiming that almost 97 per cent work on the ongoing rejuvenation project is already complete, the ambitious project is now slated for completion by March, officials have revealed.

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

With the project already achieving 97 per cent completion, the fresh deadline has been fixed as March 31.

Once completed, the rejuvenation aims to shed the infamous tag of “nullah” from one of the most polluted water bodies, running almost parallel to the Sutlej through most of Ludhiana district, including 14-km in the city, which it bisects into two parts, before merging with the Sutlej.

Rajya Sabha MP from Ludhiana Sanjeev Arora told The Tribune on Tuesday that the rejuvenation of the Buddha Nullah had been progressing fast and had reached final stages to meet the fresh deadline.

Arora, who reviewed the progress of the project here recently, 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 March 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 the 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.

Rishi informed the ruling 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 has also been made functional and has been working satisfactorily, the Balloke STP was under stabilisation process with 30-MLD flow at present being treated.

Under the domestic effluent management of the project, six intermediate pumping stations (IPSs) on the banks of the nullah were being installed of which five units — 12-MLD capacity at Tibba, 8-MLD capacity at Sundar Nagar, 5-MLD capacity at Kundanpuri, 13-MLD capacity at Upkar Nagar, and LMH IPS, have already been established and were under trial run, while majority of the work has been completed on the sixth IPS near gaushala, which was facing a legal scrutiny for the land issue.

To check the 137-MLD industrial effluent discharge into the Buddha Nullah, all industrial units have either been connected to the 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.

Nullah to turn dariya: MP

“The work is nearing completion to give a new lease of life to the dirty Buddha Nullah and turn it into Buddha Dariya (river) by ensuring that only treated domestic waste water or fresh or storm water may flow into the Sutlej tributary. We are trying 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 few months,” said Sanjeev Arora, Rajya Sabha MP.

Missed deadlines

The work, which was awarded to a Mumbai-based joint venture group at the 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, August, and December 2023, had also not been met.

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

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Buddha Nullah Ludhiana