The Hindu 19.08.2009
Over 3,000 rural habitations face drinking water shortage
T. Ramakrishnan
| Rs.70 crore sought for relief measures |
— File photo 
EMPTY POTS: Vellore, one of the districts facing acute drinking water shortage, has been allocated Rs.5 crore by the State government to tide over the problem.
CHENNAI: About 3,300 rural habitations in the State require relief measures for drinking water supply in the wake of the failure of the south-west monsoon.
This accounts for about 3.6 per cent of the State’s total number of rural habitations (92,689) and the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board, responsible for water supply in most parts of the State, has sought nearly Rs.70 crore for undertaking the measures.
[Chennai Metrowater takes care of the supply in the city and parts of neighbouring local bodies].
The relief works will be taken up in areas where the service level has declined below 10 litres per capita per day (LPCD) or is expected to go down in the coming months. The ultimate purpose will be to ensure a minimum supply of 10 LPCD in rural areas, according to a TWAD Board official here.
[Under the normal circumstances, the government norms stipulate that rural habitations have the service level of 40 LPCD; town panchayats – 70 LPCD; municipalities – 90 LPCD and municipal corporations – 135 LPCD.]
Digging of new borewells/infiltration/open wells, deepening or desilting of existing wells and replacement of pumpsets are among the measures proposed by the TWAD Board.
One hundred and sixty out of 561 town panchayats and 52 out of 148 municipalities require mitigation measures. The TWAD Board has proposed to carry out the works at a cost of Rs.14.14 crore for town panchayats and Rs.13.5 crore for municipalities. While the relief works are to be undertaken in urban areas where the service level has declined or is likely to go below 30 LPCD in near future, authorities are particular that a minimum of 30 LPCD should be maintained in these areas.
The TWAD Board is maintaining 474 combined water supply schemes (CWSS) covering five municipal corporations, 51 municipalities, 256 town panchayats, 21,023 rural habitations and 420 industrial units/institutions. Of these schemes, 48 require to be rejuvenated, for which the Board has sought about Rs.3.17 crore.
In total, the organisation has prepared a contingency plan for about Rs.100 crore. The proposal is under the government examination.
Besides, the Board has planned to take up revamping of 250 CWSS at an estimated cost of about Rs.43 crore under the National Rural Drinking Water Programme.
Relief fund
The State government has already released about Rs.21.75 crore to different districts for tiding over water shortage.
While Vellore has been given Rs.5 crore, Virudhunagar and Dindigul have been allotted Rs.4 crore each. Tiruvannamalai has been sanctioned Rs.3.75 crore and Villupuram and Tiruvallur, Rs.2 crore each. Four districts – Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri, Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin – have been given Rs.25 lakh each, according to a senior Revenue Department official.
