Lack of funds, forest clearances delay Nurpur sewerage project for 18 years

An acute shortage of funds and persistent delays in obtaining clearances under the Forest Conservation Act (FCA) for laying underground drains in parts of Nurpur town have brought the multi-crore sewerage project to a standstill. A facility desperately needed for nearly two decades continues to languish, reflecting the apathy of successive governments that have repeatedly pushed the project on the back burner.

Public frustration has steadily been growing. Local residents recall April 11, 2007, when then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, along with local MLA and minister Sat Mahajan, had laid the foundation stone amid great fanfare. The project, initially estimated to cost Rs 15.83 crore, has since become costlier due to prolonged delays and rising input cost. The Irrigation and Public Health Department, now known as the Jal Shakti Department (JSD), has managed to complete work in only three of the nine Municipal Council wards over the past 18 years.

With new homes coming up, the residents are now unsure whether to invest in individual underground tanks or continue hoping for timely sewerage connections. The project’s revised detailed project report (DPR) in 2015 pegged the cost at Rs 22 crore and its deadline was extended to 2017, which was again not met due to the shortage of funds. The last tranche of funds was released during the previous Jai Ram government in 2020-21. Since the present government was formed, no allocations have been made for three consecutive years.

The residents have urged Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to intervene to ensure the long-pending project, launched during the Virbhadra Singh government, is completed on a war footing and becomes functional within the next two years.

Officials say about 80 per cent of the work in Zone C (Wards 7, 8 and 9) has been completed and sewerage connections are functional there. However, the residents of Wards 1 to 6 continue to be deprived of the facility. According to Anand Baloria, Executive Engineer, Nurpur Jal Shakti Department, a revised DPR of Rs 29.05 crore had recently received administrative approval. He added that the Forest Conservation Act clearance file was resubmitted a month ago after addressing objections raised earlier.