The Hindu 22.05.2013
Drinking water projects progressing on war footing to tackle scarcity
Rs. 150 lakh allotted to Vellore district to augment supply in rural areas
Out of a total of 156 works taken up at a cost of Rs. 6
crore to alleviate the acute drinking water scarcity in Vellore
Corporation, 85 works have been completed.
This was
disclosed at a meeting of the Vellore Corporation Commissioner,
Municipal Commissioners and Block Development Officers convened by the
District Collector P. Sankar at the Collectorate here on Monday to
review the progress of the works being undertaken to tackle the drinking
water scarcity in the district.
The works included
installation of mini power pumps, sinking of infiltration wells,
changing of drinking water pipelines, desilting of wells and sinking of
deep borewells.
A total of 537 works have been taken
up at a cost of Rs. 16.5 crore in the 11 municipalities in Vellore
district, which included erection of 61 hand pumps, 437 works of sinking
deep borewells and installation of mini power pumps, 25 works of
changing of drinking water pipelines, and sinking of 13 infiltration
wells.
Of these works, 213 have been completed. The
Collector has asked the municipal commissioners to expedite the
completion of the remaining 324 works on a war footing.
According
to a release from the District Information and Public Relations Office,
out of a total of 5,830 works taken up at a cost of Rs. 53.817 crore to
relieve the drinking water problem in the rural areas under the general
funds of the panchayat unions, village panchayats and the District
Panchayat, THAI Scheme, self-sufficiency scheme, MPs Local Area
Development Scheme (MPLADS), Constituency Development Fund (CDF) of MLAs
and the Collector’s Discretionary Fund, 3,568 works have been
completed. The Collector has asked all the BDOs to ensure that all the
remaining 2,262 works were completed in such a way as to prevent
drinking water scarcity in the rural areas.
A total
of 42 works taken up at a cost of Rs. 58.80 lakh under the National
Water Supply Scheme in 743 village panchayats in the 20 panchayat unions
in the district are in various stages of progress. Given the fact that a
sum of Rs. 150 lakh has been allotted to Vellore district for
undertaking drinking water augmentation works under the drought relief
scheme in the rural areas, the Collector asked the BDOs to identify the
works and commence them immediately.
The Collector
has asked the BDOs to complete the works on sinking new deep borewells,
desilting and flushing existing water sources, construction of overhead
tanks, and extension and repair of pipelines on a priority basis. He has
asked the Corporation Commissioiner, Municipal Commissioners and BDOs
to put an end to the drinking water scarcity in their areas by taking up
works under the MPLADS, CDF, self-sufficiency scheme and the general
funds of the local bodies.
Natarajan, Regional
Director of Municipal Administration, Kannan, Town Plannng Officer,
Vellore Corporation, Pasupathi, Assistant Director of Village Panchayats
and Narayanasamy, Executive Engineer, Tamil Nadu Water Supply and
Drainage Board participated in the meeting.
