The Indian Express        03.07.2013 

Rs 380 crore Bhama Askhed plan gets Centre’s nod

The meeting of Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) of the Union Urban Ministry was held in Delhi on Tuesday and the two proposals of PMC were taken up for discussion. "The two projects have been given the nod for implementation under JNNURM," said Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak.

He said that the third proposal of increasing the water supply capacity at Parvati, the main water works of the city, would be taken up in the next meeting.

The civic administration had planned the project to enable it to meet the increased demand of the city, which is undergoing rapid urbanisation. However, the huge costs involved had delayed implementation of the project. It was later proposed to be implemented through JNNURM funds.

"The projects will now gain pace and meet the JNNURM deadline," said superintendent engineer V G Kulkarni.

In its proposals collectively pegged at Rs 1,282 crore, the PMC had sought approval to Bhama Askhed project while estimating its cost at Rs 447 crore. The project has been planned to meet the water supply needs of the eastern part of the city that includes the entire Nagar road, Yerawada, Kharadi, Lohegaon and Vadgaonsheri areas.

Similarly, the estimated cost of expanding the water work project at Vadgaon Budhruk was pegged at Rs 147 crore. The PMC plans to construct a water purification plant of 250 MLD at Vadgaon Budhruk which would cater to the water demands of fringe areas on Sinhagad Road, Satara Road and Solapur Road alongwith new villages is likely to be merged in civic jurisdiction.

The other two proposals pending with the CSMC relate to increasing the water supply capacity of Parvati Water Works by 500 MLD at an estimated cost of Rs 198 crore and constructing storm water drains and nullah channelisation at a cost of Rs 490 crore.

PMC has also started work on the 24x7 water supply project with equitable distribution. It has taken up five areas for the pilot project and would soon instal water meters and revamp the water supply network in the city.

The Hindu              03.07.2013 

24x7 drinking water: proposal to cover entire city before panel

Special Correspondent

Municipal Administration and Wakf Minister Qamar-ul Islam has said the proposal for a 24x7 drinking water supply project to cover the whole of Gulbarga city is awaiting approval from the State government. The Rs. 479-crore proposal is before the screening committee of the Urban Development Department.

Proposal

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Mr. Islam said that as per the proposal prepared by the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), the requirement of 105 mld of water would be met by drawing water from the Bennethora.

At present, the major portion of the drinking water requirement is met by drawing water from the Bhima. In addition, water is drawn from the Bennethora.

Mr. Islam said that the proposal had also been submitted to the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, for evaluation of technical viability.

After getting clearance from the screening committee and the evaluation by the IISc, the proposal would be sent to the Union government for financial assistance.

As per the proposals prepared by the KUIDFC, Mr. Islam said the water would be drawn by laying a new pipeline from Bennethora Dam at Harsur in Chittapur taluk and a new filter bed with capacity to filter more than 105 mld at a time would be installed at Salam Tekdi locality. From there, the filtered water would be stored in Gulbarga in overhead and ground-level reservoirs.

Mr. Islam said that once the screening committee cleared the proposal, permission would be obtained from the Water Resources Department to draw water from Bennethora Dam. Water drawn from the Bhima and available water in the filter stations would be used to supply drinking water to new localities that have come up on the outskirts of Gulbarga.

Mr. Islam thanked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and Railway Minister M. Mallikarjun Kharge for overruling the decision of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) and increasing the minimum support price (MSP) for red gram from Rs. 3,850 a quintal to Rs. 4,300 a quintal.

The proposal to increase the MSP to Rs. 4,500 was rejected by the CACP.

‘Support for farmers’

“The State government will protect the interests of red gram growers and intervene in the event of a fall in the prices of red gram,” he said.

Congress councillors Bhim Reddy Patil and Agsar Chulbul were present.