The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Wednesday (13 January) signed an agreement with the Government of India to provide 19,064 million Japanese Yen (approximately Rs 1,000 crore) Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan for development of sewage collection and treatment infrastructure in Pune city, 13 adjoining villages and the Cantonment area.
The agreement was signed by Tomohide Ichiguchi, Deputy Chief Representative, JICA India Office with S Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India. The agreement was signed in the presence of Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change, and Hiramatsu, the Ambassador of Japan to India. The assistance will facilitate construction of sewer lines, pumping stations and treatment plants for treatment of the sewage before its discharge into Mula, Mutha and Mula-Mutha rivers, thereby mitigating river pollution and enhancing the living environment in Pune and adjoining areas.
Pune has been growing as a centre of education, engineering industry and IT services sector. The population of Pune has been proportionately increasing, from 2.6 million in 2001 to 3.2 million in 2011 as per the Census, and is estimated to reach 5.7 million by 2027. The requirement for sewerage services has also increased proportionately.
The sewage volume being treated currently is about 476 million liters per day (MLD), while the sewage volume generated is about 728 MLD. JICA’s assistance will entail construction of a sewer network of over 113 km, 4 sewage pumping stations and 11 sewage treatment plants of 396 MLD combined capacity, to cater to population increase over the ensuing 30 years. The sewerage system is designed to benefit over 8 million inhabitants in Pune and adjoining areas. The sewage treatment plants will be fitted with Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system which enables remote control and monitoring of equipment. There will also be 24 community toilet facilities constructed under the assistance.
Civil works for the development of the sewerage system will be carried out by Pune Municipal Corporation, and are scheduled for completion by 2021. JICA will also assist in designing of the sewerage network, management of its construction and application of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Management Information System (MIS) for capacity building of the Pune Municipal Corporation for subsequent operation and maintenance.
“Sanitation plays an important role in ensuring protection of the environment and water resources, and in facilitating availability of adequate clean water to support social and economic development. The project aims to improve the water quality in the Mula, Mutha and Mula-Mutha rivers by augmenting sewage collection systems and sewage treatment facilities in Pune. Wastewater treatment in the project will contribute to pollution abatement, and thereby improving the sanitation and living environment for people in Pune city and at the watershed of the downstream area,” said Ichiguchi, Deputy Chief Representative, JICA India Office.
JICA has extended JPY 124,332 million (approximately Rs 6,500 crore) in concessional ODA loans for improvement of sewerage facilities in various parts of India. Projects supported by JICA include Yamuna Action Plan for abatement of pollution in river Yamuna through sewerage system development across Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh; abatement of pollution in Hussain Sagar Lake at Hyderabad through sewerage system development; and sewerage system development at Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack & Guwahati. Over 1.5 crore people will benefit through improved habitat enabled by these projects.
