Agra: The Uttar Pradesh government has sanctioned a budget of Rs 353 crore for construction of sewerage network in western part of the city of Taj. According to the plan, 251-km of sewer line network will be developed in the west zone of the city which includes 22 municipal wards out of total 100 in the city. The Agra Municipal Corporation (AMC) had sent a revised proposal to the state government, which gave its approval to the budget in a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday. Surprisingly, over 45 per cent of Agra city, which has been included in the Smart City list now, had no proper sewer lines.According to AMC officials, under the west zone sewer network development plan, new sewer connections will be provided to a total 47,827 houses. The work on the project will be carried out by the Jal Nigam under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transportation (AMRUT) scheme. Apart from that, repairing and maintenance work will also be done at eight sewer treatment plants (STP).RK Garg, chief engineer of Jal Nigam, said: “The Agra’s western zone has 22 wards. Under the AMRUT scheme, sewer infrastructure will be developed in all these wards. Area from the central railway line to Fatehpur Sikri will also be covered under the project. The tendering process will be started soon after the formal government order is received”.The main localities which will be covered under the project include Arjun Nagar, Shahganj, Boghipura, Shaheed Nagar, Manas Nagar and nearby areas.However, according to sources, funds provided by the state government are not used properly. Unplanned approach towards cleaning of river Yamuna is evident from the fact that 61 small and big nullahs still discharge effluents directly in the river.

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