Mumbai's utility, the Brihanmum-bai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has identified contractors for seven huge wastewater treatment plants with a combined capacity of more than 2.7 million m3/d, as part of India's largest urban wastewater programme. Earlier this month, the Supreme Court gave final clearance for the Mumbai Sewage Development Project Phase Ⅱ (MSDP Ⅱ). It was a major relief for contractors after a decade-long process that went through numerous litigation processes and changes in specifications (see GWI September 2020, p33). Conceived as early as 2007, MSDP Ⅱ went through multiple rounds of changes to the specifications, resulting in cost escalations. A planned award date in 2019 was missed as the country's National Green Tribunal (NGT) insisted that the MSDP Ⅱ follow the stringent discharge norms that it recommended in 2019, further delaying the process with litigations and appeals. Matters finally reached the Supreme Court.
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