Rana Gurjeet Singh condemns stopping of water pipeline project in Kapurthala
Terms the move highly condemnable | Urges the Aam Aadmi Party government and the local civic authorities to immediately restart work
Congress MLA from Kapurthala and former Punjab minister Rana Gurjeet Singh on Monday strongly condemned the sudden stoppage of work on the Rs 26 crore potable water supply project in the town. He termed the move highly condemnable and urged the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the local civic authorities to immediately restart the work in the larger public interest.
“I got the work started and conducted an inspection last week on Saturday. When the digging work for laying water pipes was going on at full scale, it was stalled the very next day on Sunday (December 21), at the behest of the AAP leaders. This is unacceptable. The residents should not suffer due to political bias,” Rana Gurjeet Singh said.
He added that governments function in continuity and development projects sanctioned earlier should not be stopped. “The government belongs to everyone. For public representatives like us and the governments, people’s interest must always be the top priority,” he emphasised.
The potable water project was sanctioned during the Congress government regime in Punjab between 2017 and 2022 under the Government of India’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT)-II scheme. AMRUT-II is a flagship central scheme aimed at providing 100 per cent coverage of safe and adequate drinking water to urban households, strengthening water infrastructure, and ensuring clean and sustainable water supply systems.
Rana had initially taken up the matter with the Government of India when the earlier AMRUT-I scheme was nearing its end. Considering the urgent requirement in Kapurthala and the deteriorating condition of the water supply system, the project was approved under AMRUT-II.
The project was necessitated due to the extremely poor condition of existing water pipelines in Kapurthala. In several areas, pipes had corroded, leading to frequent complaints of potable water getting mixed with sewage, posing serious health hazards to residents.
Under the project, a new 95-kilometre-long potable water pipeline network was planned to be laid across the town. Six-inch GI cement-coated, rust-proof pipes were to be used to ensure durability and safe water supply. Water was to be supplied through tubewells, while household connections were to be provided using four-inch pipes. As per the project plan, 100 per cent of Kapurthala’s population was to be covered, and the work was scheduled to be completed within two years.
Following the stoppage of work, local residents also came out in protest, demanding immediate resumption of the project to ensure safe and uninterrupted drinking water supply across the town.
