Jamshedpur: An ambitious solid waste management project in neighbouring Adityapur has run into a wall of resentment with local residents opposing a sewage treatment plant that is part of the Rs 234-crore proposal.

The plant is planned in contiguous and densely populated Saldih bustee and Majhitola areas of the industrial town. People are apprehensive that the project will make their surroundings unhygienic and lead to water-borne diseases such as diarrhoea, but the mayor has called these fears baseless.

Councillors Nil Biswas and Vikram Kisku are, however, siding with the disgruntled residents.

"Apprehensions of people are not unfounded. A sewage treatment plant should not come up in densely populated areas in the first place. Leaking pipes can lead to health hazards," said Majhitola councillor Kisku.

The project envisioned by the state urban development department is being executed by the Jharkhand Urban Infrastructure Development Company (Juidco) along with its private partner Shapoorji Pallonji Group.

According to the blueprint, five sewage treatment plants are planned in as many locations, including Majhitola, Saldih and Sapra. Each will have a pumping station.

Simmering resentment found after a team of Juidco officials visited the sites to begin groundwork last week. Somnath Gope, a resident of Saldih, said come what may, they would not allow construction work in their area.

The land here belongs to the government, but unauthorised houses have mushroomed. The Adityapur Municipal Corporation has identified 18 houses for demolition, which many believe is at the root of the protests.

Mayor Vinod Srivastava said fears of unhygienic ambience were baseless and unwarranted.

"People are actually opposing a project that is meant to end the sewage problem in an area with a population of over 2.5 lakh," he said, adding that any agitation would be dealt with an iron fist.