The Hindu 28.01.2010
Work on underground drainage to begin in February
Karthik Madhavan
ERODE: Work on the much talked about underground drainage (UGD) scheme in Erode Corporation and abutting local bodies will begin soon.
Sources in the Corporation told The Hindu that the earth work would begin in the first week of February, after the verification process, which was underway, got over.
The work, however, will start on only two of the five phases — phases one and three.
In phase one the contractor, KRRI-TAPI of Hyderabad, will lay 189.45 km pipeline in Wards 12, 13, 14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 42 of Erode Corporation, Wards 1 to 18 of Surampatty Municipality, Wards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 19, 20 and 21 of Kasipalayam Municipality and Ward 12, 15, 16, 17 and 18 to 21 of Veerappan Chatram Municipality.
The cost of this phase of the project is around Rs. 59 crore.
In phase three the contractor, Anchor Ceramics of Chennai, will take up work in all the 18 wards of Periya Semur Municipality and Wards 1, 6 to 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18 to 21 of Veerappan Chatram Municipality.
Pipeline
The cost of this phase, in which 11.37 km pipeline will be laid, is around Rs. 39 crore.
The sources said the Corporation expected the two project-implementing agencies to complete the work within three years.
As for the progress on phase two work, the sources said a team of engineers and experts would assess the capability on those who had participated in the tender and then select the eligible person.
The sources added that the tender for carrying out work in phase four would soon be floated.
But then all is not well with the UGD project, as phase five of the project, which has to do with construction of a sewage treatment plant, is still at a preliminary stage.
Land
The sources conceded that the Corporation faced difficulty in acquiring the land identified for the purpose, as the Revenue Department was yet to fix land value.
The civic body had identified 18.27 acres in a village near Vendipalayam, near here. The sources said the Department had to fix the price and only then the Corporation could either go ahead and buy the land or take further orders from the State Government.
The total project cost is Rs. 209.22 crore, of which Rs. 71.14 crore is loan and Rs. 62.77 crore is grant from a German funding agency.
The Corporation’s and peoples’ contributions for the project add up to Rs. 61.89 crore.
