Water crisis stares Mohali in the face

Akash Ghai

Tribune News Service

Mohali, April 20

Water crisis is staring Mohali in the face as the demand has touched the 32-MGD mark while the supply is only 13 MGD.

Though the local authorities and politicians keep claiming that water will be supplied from the pipeline of Phases V and VI of the Kajauli Waterworks, it won’t happen anytime soon as the project is expected to take at least two years to complete.

Whether Mohali will get ‘extra’ water from the new pipeline, which has the capacity to bring 80 MGD water, is still uncertain.

Through this pilot project, Chandigarh and Mohali will get extra 40 MGD water. The cost of the project, which has now crossed the figure of Rs 200 crore, is being borne by GMADA and the Chandigarh Administration.

Sources said Haryana too had given a nod to Chandigarh to fetch 40 MGD water, but had raised concern over GMADA’s aim of getting water from the new pipeline.

“Without Haryana’s consent, we will not get even a single drop of water from the Kajauli Waterworks,” said a senior official of GMADA.

Now, GMADA is contemplating asking for 20 MGD water from the supply that the Chandigarh Administration is going to get.

“If the Chandigarh administration will not agree to give water from its share and Haryana will not relent, Mohali will not be able to get extra 40 MGD water from the new pipeline,” said the official. However, Mohali will be able to get 5 MGD water from Chandigarh’s share as per the arrangement.

Even five years after the launch of the project, the work of laying the 23.5-km pipeline has not been completed. Besides, GMADA has to set up a water treatment plant at Shinhpur village where 35.22 acres has already been acquired.

“It will take us two years to complete the project,” said the official.

The work of laying a 7.5-km pipeline from Sinhpur to the WTP at Sector 39, Chandigarh, by the UT Administration is also on.