Pune civic body penalised with Rs 93 crores by Irrigation dept for not treating sewage water 

Only half the sewage water produced by industries is treated by the PMC 

24 April 2024

By Khushi Maheshwari

The Pune Municipal Corporation has been slapped with a hefty fine of Rs. 93 crores for their failure to treat residual waste water generated in factories before releasing it in rivers. 

Out of the 835 million litres per day (MLD), merely 438 MLD goes through treatment before being discharged into the Mutha river by the civic body. 

In addition to a receipt of Rs. 111 crore for using water, the irrigation department has penalised the PMC 93 crores for mistreating sewage water and discharging it directly into water bodies. 

The total bill has been made for water usage since 2016 and amounts to Rs. 748 crore. A penalty of Rs. 448 has been imposed on the PMC, making the bill amount to Rs. 1,196 crore. 

Out of the 1,196 crore, the PMC has settled Rs. 859 crore and is left with Rs. 338 crore as the unpaid amount. In addition to this, they also have to pay Rs. 478 crore which was pending before the 2014 funds. 

Roughly Rs. 500 crores are spent by the PMC on the treatment of residual factory water but on account of incomplete treatment and neglect towards utilising the purified water from the jack well built at Mundhwa, it has to pay approximately Rs. 100 crore of penalties and fines. 

However, on the river revival front, the corporation has the abatement project of Mula-Mutha river in action. This project by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) aims at purifying 100% of the city’s sewage water with an approximate budget of Rs. 1200 crore. 

The completion of the project will materialise by the year 2026, facilitating the PMC to treat and discharge every drop of sewage water into the freshwater body. 

Another hurdle in the PMC’s way is the expansion of urban areas under it, because it poses new sewage management problems for both the residents and the corporation. 

The department is working on a proposal, which is to be delivered to the legal department (for appointment of a lawyer in order to appeal) and has decided to only pay Rs. 100 crore to the irrigation department, adhering to the monetary allocation for meeting usage costs.