Bengaluru: The BWSSB’s plan to send zero sewage into storm water drains and valleys before the arrival of monsoon, has tumbled.
The second part of the ambitious project, Environment Action Plan (EAP), which intended to rehabilitate and replace the existing sewage lines, has failed to meet the purpose and the deadline.
In 2002, the BWSSB proposed to replace pipelines on the 76 km stretch at a cost of Rs 176.75 crores in order to divert the sewage flowing into valleys and stop the sewage from entering the stormwater drains. The funds for the project, under JnNURM, were released by 2008.
Soon, the BWSSB prepared a detailed project report for ‘Environment Action Plan-B’ and called for tenders to take up work in eight packages. The duration for completion of the work was 30 months. The project initially stuttered as not many companies came forward and the BWSSB had to rework the project. After a delay, work began on seven packages, while one package had still not found any takers.
“The EAP-B intended to divert all the sewage released to the four valleys, Challaghatta, Hebbal, Koramangala and Vrishabhavathi. Though the target was achieved at Hebbal valley, with the latter becoming a zero sewage valley, the work has been delayed at Koramangala and Vrishabhavathi valleys by at least one year.
Work is in progress in ChalaghattaValley on the 3.5 km pipeline. The work has been completed in less than 60 km,” said a BWSSB official. The BBMP had raised objections that the BWSSB pipelines were installed inside the stormwater drains and this was obstructing the flow of sewage. It had even directed the BWSSB not to release the sewage.
“We cannot help it as there are no options available for us. Problems may arise near low-lying areas in the monsoon but we are ensuring that the flow is not obstructed,” the official explained.
The delay in the completion of the project has also escalated the costs for the BWSSB. “The estimated cost was Rs 176.75 crores but it has now reached Rs 450 crores,” he added.
No takers for EAP-C
The BWSSB had proposed to replace the pipelines on 110 km stretch. But none of the companies have come forward to take up the work that is estimated to cost Rs 500 crores. The BWSSB plans to replace pipelines on 243 km under EAP-A, B and C. It has already covered 33 km under EAP-A.
