Firm ‘dismissed objections’ to 24X7 water supply proposal

The ‘failure’ of the 24x7 water supply project in Manimajra has exposed tall claims made by the Chandigarh Smart City Limited before the launch of the project.

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Ram Kumar Garg, a city resident, said he opposed the project when the proposal was mooted in 2021 and wrote to the Prime Minister’s Office also. Garg said the Chief General Manager (CGM) of Chandigarh Smart City Limited had dismissed his complaints and grievances. “But today, I am proved right as the pilot project has failed in Manimajra,” he said.

Garg said in his letter to the PMO, he had mentioned that providing 24X7 water in the city was an avoidable burden for the residents. The decision to seek a loan of Rs 400 crore from an agency of France for 24x7 water supply was also not beneficial for the residents of Chandigarh. This loan with interest would be paid in the next seven years. The repayment of loan and interest thereon would be ultimately borne by residents.

He said in Chandigarh, per capita availability of water was already double the national average of 135 litres a day. The present twice a day water supply system was sufficient for the residents and uninterrupted water supply 24X7 would not serve any purpose rather it might be a burden on the already very old sewerage system. But Chandigarh Smart City Limited dismissed all his grievances, he said.

In a reply dated March 21, 2021, sent to Garg, Chief General Manager (CGM) of the company said the project would benefit the city and all objections raised by the complainant were baseless. The CGM claimed that the project would reduce the non-revenue water (NRW) percentage (within 15% only) in accordance to the provisions/norms of the Government of India (GOI) by upgrading the existing water supply infrastructure along with implementing the SCADA and advanced metering infrastructure.

It was also claimed that it would help in conservation of water resources, prevention of leakages (even up to household level), preservation of underground water level by gradually phasing out the drinking water supply through tube wells.

The CGM also claimed that it would help to maintain pressure in the distribution network for availing water at any point of time during the day and also to control contamination of water through continuous pressure in the lines. The CGM had claimed that sufficient justification was already provided to the authorities concerned and public representatives, following which the approval for the project was granted.