Work halts as ADB stops funding

KOZHIKODE: The future of the multi-crore Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) and sewage network schemes, which were initiated under the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and assisted by the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP), is hanging in mid-air as the work has stalled in Kozhikode after the ADB had stopped the funding following the completion of its tenure.The extended tenure of the ADB loan ended on June 30, 2016.
The proposed scheme under the KSUDP can be resumed only after the state government allots around Rs 75 crore for the completion of the remaining work. Though the KSUDP officials here had already submitted a letter to the state government requesting funds for the project completion, a positive reply from the government has not been received so far.
KSUDP project manager K Mohan said that the high court vacated the stay issued by the National Green Tribunal against the construction of STP and now the KSUDP could initiate STP work. "The latest problem is the discontinuing of funding for the scheme. We have already submitted a letter to the state government urging to either provide funds for the completion or include the sewerage under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. A decision on the future of the proposal is yet to be made,'' he said.
Meanwhile, deputy mayor Meera Darshak said that STP was needed for a developing city like Kozhikode as the absence of a mechanism for the disposal of generated septic waste would result in contamination of water bodies as the city was densely populated. "We have been waiting for the government decision about the future of the sewerage scheme,'' said deputy mayor.
According to the KSUDP office, of the proposed Rs 29 crore for the construction of STP plant at Sarovaram, the KSUDP could complete work worth Rs 4 crore only. It requires Rs 25 crore for the completion of the STP, which has the capacity to treat 13.5 million litres per day (mld) of septic waste. Of the 64 crore sewage network laying project, the KSUPD could utilise only Rs 13 crore and requires Rs 50 crore for the completion of remaining network work.