Pan-city 24x7 water supply project: Chandigarh Civic body begins process to upgrade Kajauli waterworks
Sandeep Rana
Chandigarh, February 17
In a step towards realisation of the 24×7 pan-city water supply project, the local municipal corporation (MC) has kicked off the process to start Rs 67.43 crore upgradation of its Kajauli waterworks. The civic body today invited bids for the same.
According to the MC, once the work is allotted, the agency will be given 18 months to carry out the project. The funds from the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and French financial institution Agence Française de Développement (AFD), with which the corporation has signed a pact for taking soft loan for the whole project, would be utilised under the plan.
The upgradation of the Kajauli waterworks is one of the three parts of the pan-city water supply project. The MC has already awarded the work to an agency for providing long-term technical assistance (LTTA), which is second part of this project.
The LTTA will prepare the detailed project report (DPR) and carry out the tender process to hire the contractor for the work of DBO (design, build and operate), which is the third part of the project. The LTTA will also execute the project on the ground. The LTTA has required technical experts, accounts and field staff. It will assist in the whole operation and other related issues in consultation with the MC officials.
The civic body had signed an agreement with the AFD with the support of the European Union, at Raj Bhavan in December 2022 to provide 24×7 water supply in the city.
It is a Rs 510-crore project — Rs 412 crore in the form of AFD’s soft loan and Rs 98 crore as European Union’s grant. The loan will be paid by the residents in their soon-to-be increased monthly bills. Separately, a pilot 24×7 water supply project is being carried out in Mani Majra. It is already delayed, but is expected to be inaugurated this month.
