Thane mayor Sharmila Pimpalolkar on Monday pulled up civic officials following reports that the sewage treatment project at Kopri was not operating at full capacity. She sought a detailed report on corrective action within 15 days.
Pimpalolkar visited the treatment plant along with municipal commissioner Saurabh Rao and senior officials on Tuesday, flagging multiple deficiencies and expressing dissatisfaction over its functioning. The visit came two days after a team led by BJP MLA Sanjay Kelkar and MLC Niranjan Davkhare surveyed the project, finding it underperforming and allegedly draining sludge that threatened nearby mangroves.
“Officials admitted the system was not functioning as intended, following which the mayor instructed the administration to submit a detailed report,” said an official present during the visit.
The project is being implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, designed to treat wastewater and produce reusable water. The contractor is responsible for operating the tertiary treatment plant, supplying 10% of treated water to the corporation, and sharing revenue from the sale of remaining water in the open market.
