The Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has decided to set up a plant that will treat wastewater and make it suitable for industrial and other uses. The plant will have a capacity of 90 million litres per day (MLD) and will be built on a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
The RMC’s standing committee approved a proposal to hire a Pune-based firm, Bluestream Infrastructure Development Consultant Private Limited, as the consultant for the project. The firm will prepare the feasibility study, project report, technical specifications, and tender documents for the plant and help select the private partner.
The Municipal Commissioner, Anand Patel, said that Rajkot needs to reuse its wastewater as the city has limited water sources. He said that the RMC currently has seven sewage treatment plants (STPs) that discharge water into Aji-II dam after primary treatment. The irrigation department then supplies this water to farmers for irrigation. Patel said that the RMC wants to give this water tertiary treatment and create a revenue stream by selling it to industries and other sectors.
The RMC has two STPs in Madhapar, two in Raiyadhar, two in Kothariya, and one in Gavaridad village, with a total capacity of 300 MLD. The RMC is also testing and commissioning an 8 MLD tertiary treatment plant (TTP) in Raiya to cater to Raiya Smart City. This TTP will discharge water into Atal Sarovar, a reservoir that will also be used for gardening purposes.
Patel said that the RMC is currently selling some wastewater treated by STPs to farmers at nominal rates. But he said that the wastewater treated by the proposed TTP will be odourless and fit for many uses. He said that the RMC hopes to attract industries and other sectors to use this water and reduce their dependence on freshwater.
The city engineer of RMC’s drainage (projects) department, Kishor Dethariya, said that the RMC’s sewage collection network collects an average of 260 MLD and almost all of it is treated by the seven STPs and discharged into Aji-II dam. He said that the RMC’s Gavaridad and Madhapar STPs are supplying water to farmers to irrigate around 40 hectares of land. He said that this generates around Rs 3.5 lakh revenue for RMC annually. He also said that the RMC is setting up two new STPs in Ghanteshwar and Raiyadhar, with capacities of 75 MLD and 23 MLD respectively.
Dethariya said that other cities like Surat, Vadodara, and Ahmedabad have already commercialised wastewater treated by TTPs. He said that the RMC will provide land for the TTP and supply wastewater treated by its STPs. He said that the private partner will have to invest in the TTP and operate and maintain it.
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