Ahmedabad: With the Ahmedabad-Khambhat deep sea effluent discharge project running behind schedule, the state govt has chalked out an interim solution, where industrial effluents and sewage dumped into the Sabarmati will be treated, mixed, and then transported 22km to Miroli village near Dholka in Ahmedabad district. The water will be given to the Miroli agriculture cooperative society that has for the past few years been providing water from the Sabarmati to farmers for irrigation. Top govt sources said that the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) and the irrigation department will jointly prepare a detailed project report (DPR), after which the work on the project will begin. “This project has been finalized because the Ahmedabad-Khambhat deep sea effluent discharge project has still not taken off and a large quantity of untreated industrial effluents and sewage is being dumped into the Sabarmati. This provisional arrangement will reduce pollution in the Sabarmati,” a senior govt official said. According to details of the proposed project, a treatment and mixing plant will be set up along the banks of the river. “This plant will treat industrial effluents and sewage, which will be transported to Miroli near Dholka through a 22-kilometre pipeline,” a source said. “A lot of untreated water is going to the farms. This project will ensure that farmers get treated water for irrigation purposes,” he added. For the last four years, the authorities have been under pressure to curb pollution in Sabarmati. In 2021, the Gujarat high court filed a suo motu public interest litigation after a news report revealed that AMC’s sewage treatment plants (STPs) could not properly treat city’s wastewater, because of which untreated water was being released into the river. The reason behind the inability of the STPs to treat the sewage was that the industries in the city also released their effluents in sewage lines, resulting in malfunctioning of the STPs. Upon the high court’s order, a huge drive was undertaken to snap illegal connections. However, the court has been pressuring the civic authorities and the pollution control board to reduce pollution levels in the river. “A panel will be formed with members from AMC, GPCB and irrigation department. Govt will fast-track the project. Implementation will begin once the project report is finalized,” a source said.