Kol Dam water supply scheme for Shimla awaits WB nod

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 25

While Shimla town and its adjoining areas are facing acute water shortage, the ambitious Kol Dam lift water scheme is awaiting World Bank nod for funding.

The revised proposal of the state government was approved by the Union Urban Development Department in June 2015 and sent to World Bank (WB) for external funding, but the WB has neither approved the funding nor rejected it, said a senior state government official.

The proposed project, including the sewerage scheme, with a total cost of Rs 643 crore will cater to the water needs of Shimla town and adjoining areas for the next three decades.

Funding to the tune of Rs 544 crore has been sought from the World Bank, while the remaining Rs 129 crore will be spent by the state.

The drinking water supply scheme for Shimla envisaged lifting of water from Kol Dam near Tattapani, besides improving and strengthening the water distribution system by plugging the leakages and avoiding wastage.

With the launch of the project, the sanitary conditions in the town would be substantially improved by providing sewerage facility to all households, construction of new sewerage treatment plants, improvement of existing treatment plants and rejuvenation of sewer lines, but the project of vital importance is getting delayed as World Bank has not given its nod for funding.

At present, the Irrigation and Public Health Department is providing on an average 39 MLD of water to the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) in spite of stoppage of water supply from the Ashwani Khud scheme from January 2 this year in the wake of outbreak of jaundice.

The Ashwani Khud scheme used to provide on an average 4-5 MLD of water and there are remote chances of resumption of supply from this scheme. About 30 per cent of water is lost during distribution.

However, Deputy Mayor of the Shimla Municipal Corporation Tikender Singh Panwar said only 31 MLD of water was available against the total requirement of 45 MLD and the situation could become worse during peak summers.

In Shimla, it is not only the malfunctioning of the sewerage treatment plant, which leads to mixing of sewage in main water sources resulting in contamination, but the entire area upstream the Ashwani Khud scheme lacks proper sanitation system.