Pune, November 1, 2024: After a five-year wait, the Aundh sewage treatment plant (STP) has received preliminary approval to de-reserve 0.33 hectares from a biodiversity heritage site. This decision, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), comes from the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth (MPKV) executive council and marks a significant milestone for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in its Mula-Mutha pollution abatement project.
The proposed site, which spans 33 acres and includes part of Aundh’s Botanical Garden, was designated a biodiversity heritage area in 2020. Although the formal de-reservation still requires approval from the Maharashtra Biodiversity Heritage Board and the central government, the PMC has sought provisional permission to begin construction on the STP while these approvals are processed.
Once completed, the JICA-supported STP will increase Pune’s sewage treatment capacity by 396 million liters per day (MLD), supplementing the existing 477 MLD. The project is expected to be finished by 2025 and aims to significantly reduce pollution in the Mula-Mutha River by ensuring that only treated water is released back into the river.
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