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Hussain Sagar Catchment Improvement Plan heading nowhere
Highlights
Hussain Sagar Catchment Improvement Plan heading nowhere. The Hussain Sagar Catchment Improvement Plan (HCIP) was started in March 2006 with a budget of Rs 350 crore.
• Rs 100cr required to treat wastes at Kukatpally nala
• Government says no and asks to seek alternativee methods
• Dredging works are in jeopardy
• Rs 205cr already spent for the Rs 350cr project; yet no results
The Hussain Sagar Catchment Improvement Plan (HCIP) was started in March 2006 with a budget of Rs 350 crore. The project was envisaged to improve the water quality and to divert the wastes entering the lake through treatment plants. The lake was mostly polluted by the Banjara, Balkapur, Picket and Kukatpally nalas and the Hussain Sagar had to be dredged to improve the quality of water.
The Buddha Purnima Project Authority (BPPA) undertook dredging works at the Picket, Banjara and Balkapur nalas, with a budget of Rs 87cr, in December 2012. Currently dredging work is going on at the Balkapur nala. A recent study by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) revealed that out of the four nalas, the Kukatpally nala has been polluting Hussain Sagar the most.
The BPPA authorities earlier estimated and earmarked a budget of Rs 10 crore for the dredging work at the Kukatpally nala and even finalised the tenders. Later they decided to entrust the works of waste storage and treatment to the same agency. But the revised estimates came up to a staggering Rs 100 crore.
“The revised estimates grew 10 times the original cost because the dredged pollutants contain harmful chemicals like lead, phosphorus, chromium etc and these should be treated chemically,” said a senior official at the BPPA.
Sources stated that when the estimates were placed before the Chief Secretary, he directed the authorities to check for alternativee solutions. Even the team from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), who inspected the work, expressed the same thought.
Reportedly the team from JICA advised the BPPA authorities to increase the number of Interception and Diversion (I&D) plants along with the sewage treatment plants on the Kukatpally nala.
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authorities (HMDA) is also mulling to implement phytoremediation process for treating the Kukatpally nala waste. The plan is to test the process on a pilot basis in a small area before implementing it completely.
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