Indian Express 08.10.2010
Middle Vaitarna project in 2 yrs, will ease water woes: BMC
Stuti Shukla Tags : BMC, JNNURM, Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission Posted: Fri Oct 08 2010, 00:28 hrs
Mumbai: Come March 2012, BMC is hopeful of easing the water woes of the city with the completion of Rs 3,000-crore Middle Vaitarna dam project. The project will give an additional 455 million litres of water to Mumbai daily. With the construction of the dam and allied works progressing on schedule, civic officials claim that the project will be completed within the deadline of March 2012.One of the most expensive urban projects approved under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the dam project is now 47 per cent complete, three years after work started in July 2007. Officials are confident that the remaining work will be completed in next one-and-a-half years.
Deepak Mhaisekar, deputy secretary of the Urban Development department of Maharashtra government, said that while there are some delays in physical execution of the work, financially the project has progressed well. “Of the total project amount, Rs 941 crore has been spent so far. Some components are delayed but overall the work is being done as per the timelines set by the central government,” said Mhaisekar.
MMRDA, the nodal agency appointed by JNNURM to keep a tab on all mission projects in Maharashtra, sends monthly progress reports and the latest report suggests that four components out of the six are ahead of their schedule while the remaining two components are lagging somewhat.However, many officials remain skeptical as the project was originally supposed to get completed by 2002. Also, the current water demand is 4350 mld while the supply is only 3300 mld. Even after an addition of 455 mld, the gap will still remain. “By the time the project is completed, the population of the city will also increase and the situation will end up being the same,” said an official in the water supply projects of the BMC. While the laying of pipelines and construction of a reservoir in the city are almost complete, the entire construction of the dam over 684 hectares and construction of the water treatment plant is remaining. “Through latest technology we will be able to complete the dam within the stipulated time period,” said Pradeep Ajgaonkar, chief engineer, water supply projects. Thirty-five per cent of the funds are provided by the central government, 15 per cent by the state government and the BMC has put in the remaining 50 per cent funds.
