The Bengal government on Thursday launched three major projects for the hill town of Mirik.

Sources said around ₹200 crore would be spent for a drinking water supply project, three sewerage treatment plants and an urban health and wellness centre in Mirik, around 50km from here.

Chittaranjan Barman, the chief engineer of the municipal engineering directorate (MED) of the state, said: “The drinking water project for the town has been taken under Amrut 2.0 (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation & Urban Transformation) jointly by the state and the central governments. The PHE and MED will implement the project for which ₹170.10 crore would be spent.”

According to the plan, water will be drawn from Rambhang, a hilly stream located around five kilometres from the town and will be stored at a reservoir to be built at Kawlay in Mirik.

“The reservoir will be built with a capacity of eight lakh litres and from here, water will be treated and distributed across the municipal area. Today (Thursday), the foundation stone was laid,” added Barman.

The civic area of Mirik is spread across nine municipal wards with a population of 50,000. Hundreds of tourists flock to the hill town, known for the famous Sumendu Lake, and other attractions in the surrounding areas.

The sewerage treatment plants (STPs), sources said, are ready. “From today, the work to connect the sewerage system with the STPs and the households has started. Initially, it has been planned to connect 1,057 houses, which are close to the lake to prevent pollution. A sum of ₹8.61 crores would be spent for the project,” said a source.

L.B. Rai, the chairman of the board of administrators at the local civic body, said they are extending necessary help to the state departments and want the STPs to be fully functional in a year.

“It will help in conserving the rich biodiversity of the lake. Also, a longstanding demand for drinking water supply has been finally met,” the source said, adding that the state has provided ₹67 lakh for the permanent building of an urban health and wellness centre.

“As of now, it is running from a rented accommodation. The centre provided emergency medical services, neonatal health care service and treatment of common communicable diseases,” the source said.