Canal-based water supply project may near completion ahead of schedule

Charanjit Singh Teja

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Amritsar, March 9

Though the deadline for the completion of the first phase of the surface-based 24×7 water supply project is a year away, the authorities are trying to complete it on time to get funding for the next phase. With the implementation of the first phase of the project, the use of groundwater would end, claimed the authorities.

Construction work of the water treatment plant at Vallha is going on and the Minister for Local Bodies Inderbir Singh Nijjar had visited it in the past. The authorities would install a supply line to link the overhead tanks with treated canal water. A total of 88 overhead water tanks would fulfill the needs of the city. The authorities would construct 51 new overhead water tanks in the city. Thirteen recently constructed overhead water tanks under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) would be used for the project. Apart from this, 24 old overhead water tanks would be repaired.

Lata Chauhan, Executive Engineer for the project, said, “There is no scarcity of funding. There is no delay in the implementation of the project. We face a problem while constructing a new overhead water tank as some times the public opposes the move. The residents should cooperate in the project for its timely completion.”

However, the first phase had started with delay due to formalities and NOCs (No Objection Certificates) from other government departments. But the authorities claimed that it would be completed on time. The construction of the water treatment plant and distribution lines would be completed in the first phase. These distribution lines would be connected with the existing overhead water tanks and tube-well points. Door-to-door connectivity lines would be installed in the second phase.

Funding

Former CM Capt Amarinder Singh had inaugurated the first phase of the surface-based water project worth Rs 722 crore on February 22, 2020. The entire project would cost around Rs 2,200 crore and will help in providing clean water. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the lending arm of the World Bank Group, would finance 70 per cent of the cost and the rest would be borne by the Punjab Government. A major share of funding would be used from the Amritsar Smart City Limited.

The total cost of the project is around Rs 2400 crore. After the completion of the first phase of the project, the government would fund the second phase to replace the supply lines from water tanks to households.

What is surface-based 24×7 project

• As per the proposal, 24×7 surface water supply would be provided in the city to help get clean and safe drinking water in the holy city. It would reduce dependence on groundwater which had been causing degradation of environment in the area.
• The canal-based water supply project was a long-pending demand of residents as the city has been facing a serious water crisis for the past few decades. Moreover, water depletion and groundwater contamination has made it tough for the civic body to meet the routine demand for potable water from the residents. The Municipal Corporation spends a good amount of money on sinking tube-wells every year.