The Times of India            11.12.2013

Malkapur gets Rs 40 crore funds for sewage treatment

KOLHAPUR: The Union government has sanctioned Rs 40.91 crore for the sewage treatment plan of Malkapur Municipal Council, the hometown of chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. His aide and deputy chairman of the council Manohar Shinde said the council was among the first five in the country to receive such a sanction from the Centre.

Shinde said, "The scheme includes laying down a 59-km network of drainage pipelines in Malkapur town. The work would be completed in three years. The sewage would be treated and usable water would be supplied to the agricultural sector."

Of the total cost of the project, 70% would be borne by the Centre, while the remaining would be jointly borne by the state and the Malkapur municipal council, he added.

Shinde said the previous proposal of the scheme included treatment of sewage based only on the existing network of drainage pipelines. After discussions with the chief minister, we were told to revise our proposal, which was made to fit the norms of the Union government's Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium towns (UIDSSMT). The scheme is the part of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), which was launched on 3rd December 2005 with an investment of Rs 1 lakh crore, with a fixed seven-year period from 2005-06.

He added, "The topography of the town will help us. The design of the drainage pipeline network would be made to use the gravitational force to accumulate sewage at three locations across the town for treatment. It would save expenses on pumping as well as electricity charges."

Malkapur is a town located adjoining Karad on NH-4 in Satara district. The town had won a national-level award for its round-the-clock drinking water supply scheme.