The Hindu              22.05.2013

Drinking water projects progressing on war footing to tackle scarcity

Special Correspondent

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.

The Times of India                18.05.2013

Civic body looks towards Cauvery for future needs

MADURAI: The city corporation council has passed a resolution to sanction works on the detailed project report (DPR) for the Cauvery drinking water scheme considering the future drinking water needs of the city.

The resolution stated that the population of the city is expected to increase from 15 lakh at present, to 30 lakh within 30 years. As per the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) guidelines, 135 litres per person per day has to be provided and the corporation needs 203 mld and calculating the population boom, the city may need 405 mld in future. To cater to the present drinking water needs, the civic body has 115 mld from the Vaigai drinking water scheme, while another 12 mld is expected from the Cauvery drinking water scheme which is under process.

The corporation falls short of 76 mld to cater to the present requirement, which may turn into 278 mld deficit in future. Hence, the corporation has sought the Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage Board (TWAD) to prepare a project report on executing 100 mld drinking water project from the Cauvery river bed. TWAD in return had asked the city corporation to sanction Rs 2 lakh advance on DPR and resolutions on execution and approval from the commissioner of municipal administration.

Addressing the council, mayor V V Rajan Chellappa said it was a crucial project to cater the drinking water needs of the city in future and sought the councillors' approval. The AIADMK councillors supported the resolution unanimously though the 4{+t}{+h} zone chairman, P Salaimuthu insisted on aligning the pipelines in such a way that water reaches the city through gravitational force.

In addition to that, the council also discussed the present water crisis with councillors reporting area specific drinking water problems. CPM councillor M Chellam questioned whether the water level in Vaigai is sufficient to meet the needs.

Answering their queries, corporation commissioner, R Nanthagopal said that the water at Vaigai will last till June 10 by which time the rains would start. He also narrated the recent drinking water projects like establishing pumping stations at Mangalakudi, Manalur, Tiruparankundram. "We have sufficient sources for drinking water but there is shortage of non-potable water from bore wells. The recent discharge in Vaigai had helped the ground water level also and the water situation is better in the city," he said.