The Hindu 07.01.2015
Special drive to provide new water connections
Special camps will be organised for collecting applications from residents
The Tiruchirapalli City Corporation will take up a special drive to provide new water connections under the drinking water supply augmentation scheme which was commissioned last year.
Special camps would be conducted to collect applications from residents seeking new water connections till February-end under the initiative. The move was approved by the Corporation Council at its meeting held recently.
This is the second phase of the drive taken up by the Corporation and the first phase was conducted between September and November last year.
About 2,700 applications were received from the four zones in the city during the first phase of the special drive and the Corporation has so far provided 1,356 connections to the applicants. The remaining connections would be provided soon.
The Corporation had planned to provide about 25,000 new domestic drinking water connections initially under the Rs.221.42 crore drinking water augmentation scheme executed with financial assistance from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) which was commissioned in February last year. About one lakh new house connections could be provided under the new scheme, which has its source at the Coleroon River. The scheme was mainly intended to ensure equitable distribution of water supply across all parts of the city.
Thirty-seven new overhead tanks have been built under the new scheme to ensure equitable distribution to all parts of the city. Pumping mains for a distance of 79 km and distribution mains for 355 km have been laid under the scheme.
The civic body had last year relaxed the rules and decided to collect the deposit of Rs.6,000 payable by applicants in instalments, in an attempt to ease the financial burden on city residents seeking new water connections. Under the scheme, residents submitting their applications at the camps would be required to make an initial payment of Rs.2,000 towards the deposit amount and pay the remaining Rs.4,000 in instalments every half-year.
About one lakh new connections can be provided under the new scheme
