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.
