For more than 20 years, the Municipal Corporation has been spending lakhs of rupees every year to clean the sullage from the 2.5-km Field Ganj nallah. The apathy of the MC authorities can be gauged from the fact that the nallah was a rain drain but the corporation was using it as a sullage drain for the past many years.

The waste was directly being pumped into the Buddha Nallah thereby putting a burden on the state exchequer for the annual cleaning of the drain.

In November 2005, the project to close the nallah was designed for which the cost was pegged at Rs 16 crore. Under the project, Rs 1.35 crore was paid to the contractor but the work was stopped midway owing to a disagreement between the MC and the contractor over the design of the project.

Apart from sullage, residents also polluted it by throwing garbage and industrial waste.

"There is a need to clean the chocked sewer lines laid down by the MC. The sewage should flow from the sewer lines and hence the nallah will be used as the rain drain with zero discharge. The diesel shed staff of the railways should be stopped from polluting the drain," said Chief Parliamentary Secretary Harish Rai Dhanda. Dhanda, along with Deputy Speaker Satpal Gosain, is reviewing the project.

He further said: "There were not only loopholes in the project design but the entire project had been wrongly drafted. Hence, we need to make another project for the discharge of rain water from the nallah. This can go through pipes with manholes at 50 metres distance and we will be maintaining a green belt above the pipes. This will enhance the beauty of the area as well."

... contd.