Sewage treatment project to revive Badkhal lake hangs fire

Bijendra Ahlawat
Tribune News Service
Faridabad, October 1

The sewage treatment plant project worth Rs 30 crore sanctioned by the state government over 11 months ago for the revival of the famous Badkhal lake here is hanging fire in the wake of the delay in formal clearances by the Forest Department and the Pollution Control Board. This is likely to prolong the wait for the lake revival project worth Rs 79 crore, which was taken up in 2018.

“Though the plant was approved by the state government in November 2018, its construction has been held up,” said sources. The delay could affect the delivery time of the lake revival project undertaken as part of the Smart City project, they said.

Regular discharge from the plant will be used for refilling the Badkhal lake, which is spread over 45 acres and has been lying dry for the past 20 years. The plan had been prepared on the basis of the report prepared by experts, who had said that the plant was the only dependable and permanent source of supplying water to the lake bed.

A team of experts from IIT-Roorkee had conducted a geo-technical survey of the lake bed in October last year. The plant, with 10 mld capacity, is to be build with the sequencing batch reactors (SBR) technique. The SBR is a type of activated sludge process for the treatment of wastewater, in which reactors treat wastewater or output from the anaerobic digesters or mechanical biological treatment facilities in batches. The discharge from the plant will be able to fill the lake up to 6 m in 300 days.

Monika Gupta, Additional CEO, Faridabad Smart City Limited, said the matter had been taken up with the authorities concerned for an early approval and completion of the project.