The Hindu 31.07.2013
24×7 water supply in all Belgaum wards
The Belgaum City Corporation (BCC) has decided to extend
the World Bank-assisted Karnataka Urban Water Sector Improvement
Project (KUWASIP), to supply 24×7 pressurised drinking water supply, to
the entire city.
The State government has approved
the project and TATA Consulting Engineers has been appointed as
programme consultant for preparing the project report, according to BCC
Commissioner Priyanka Francis here on Tuesday.
She
said the decision to extend the project, from the present demonstration
zones covering 10 wards to the remaining 48 wards in the city, was taken
after the success of the first phase. The financial model of the
project was under preparation.
She said the project
report was discussed in the stakeholders meeting held on January 29 in
the presence of MLAs, the Deputy Commissioner of Belgaum, officials,
public representatives, prominent residents and representatives of
various organisations, during which it was “unanimously” resolved to
extend the project to the entire city. The project has been implemented
by the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB) at a
cost of Rs. 37.25 crore.
About 84,330 consumers with
9,758 house service connections benefitted from the project in
demonstration zones in Belgaum North and South.
The
beneficiaries included 1,387 consumers belonging to the urban poor, who
were living in less than 600 sq ft built-up area. No initial deposit or
connection charges were collected from them.
Areas
The
areas which benefitted from the project are Gangwadi, Waddarwadi, Satya
Sai Colony, Shahu Nagar, Vaibhav Nagar, Azam Nagar, Nehru Nagar,
Ambedkar Nagar, Zatpat Colony, Angol, Bhagya Nagar and other areas.
So
far, against the demand for water charges of Rs. 16.1165 crore, the
KUWSDB collected Rs. 15.8227 crore, accounting for 96 per cent.
During
the project implementation, there was no financial burden on the BCC or
the KUWSDB as the project was completely funded by the World Bank and
the State government.
