Nagpur's Ambitious River Cleanup Project Faces Land Hurdles
With the on-ground implementation of the ambitious Rs 1,927 crore Nag River Pollution Abatement Project yet to commence, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has taken a crucial step by approaching the state's Urban Development Department (UDD). The civic body is seeking approval for a land-use change to construct a vital sewage treatment plant (STP) at Nari, underscoring the significant land constraints that are impeding one of the city's most critical river rejuvenation initiatives.
Proposal Details and Legal Framework
The proposal, recently submitted to the UDD in Mumbai, requests permission under Section 37 of the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning (MRTP) Act. This seeks to convert a portion of land originally reserved for a public park in North Nagpur into a site for constructing a 45 million litres per day (MLD) STP along the banks of the Pili River, a major tributary of the Nag River.
This project forms an integral component of the broader Nag River Pollution Abatement Project, which aims to intercept untreated sewage flowing into the river and redirect it to treatment facilities before discharge. Widely promoted as a dream project of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to revive Nagpur's heavily polluted river system, the initiative has faced substantial delays despite receiving administrative approval from the Maharashtra government on March 14, 2023.
Land Acquisition Complexities and Delays
Under the latest proposal, the civic body has requested approval to acquire 3.22 hectares (approximately 8 acres) from an 8.132-hectare land parcel designated for a park. This land falls under the planning jurisdiction of the Nagpur Improvement Trust (NIT), which has already issued a no-objection certificate to the civic administration.
Officials have revealed that the proposed land parcel involves around 22 different landowners, including three government agencies such as the NMC and NIT. This multiplicity of stakeholders has rendered the acquisition process particularly complicated and time-consuming, contributing significantly to project delays.
Impact on Other Planned Facilities
The delay in securing land has also adversely affected plans to construct additional sewage treatment plants under the project. Initially, the NMC proposed establishing:
- A 12 MLD STP on five acres at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT)
- A 35 MLD facility on six acres at Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (PDKV)
These facilities were intended to treat sewage generated in central parts of the city before it entered the Nag River. However, both institutions have reportedly expressed their inability to spare land for these facilities, compelling the civic administration to search for alternative locations.
Coordination Efforts and Future Prospects
The NMC's Public Health Engineering Department, in coordination with Tata Consulting Engineering, has been actively working to identify suitable sites. They have forwarded proposals to the town planning department and the UDD for necessary approvals.
Once fully implemented, the project is expected to substantially reduce the flow of untreated sewage into the Nag River by intercepting wastewater and diverting it through sewer networks to treatment plants. However, with land acquisition issues remaining unresolved and construction yet to begin nearly two years after administrative approval, concerns are mounting that this much-publicized river cleanup project may encounter further significant delays.
