Addl. water supply scheme of Rs 193 cr lying in limbo

Aurangabad:

The then Maha Vikas Aghadi-led state government approved a 'booster' scheme valuing Rs 193 crore in June. The scheme recommends replacing the old and damaged 700 mm size pipelines (of old water supply schemes) till the completion of the new water supply scheme. As of today, it is unclear whether the project will be funded by the Central Government or the State Government as the tender of the said works is yet to be invited. One thing is for sure Aurangabadkars will have to face inconvenience this summer.

The new water supply scheme of valuing Rs 2700 crore is underway and will be taking at least one and a half years or two years to complete it. Hence the MVA government approved the proposal of Rs 193 crore to replace the damaged 700 mm pipeline with an 800 mm one immediately on June 8, 2022. Former chief minister Udhav Thackeray also gave the responsibility of the task to the divisional commissioner Sunil Kendrekar. Later on, Thackeray in a public gathering also announced that the state government will sanction the required funds for the project, but the then-state government got collapsed in June.

Reviews by all

The chief minister Eknath Shinde during the review meeting held at the divisional commissionerate on July 31 agreed to sanction the funds. The union Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat Karad and the guardian minister Sandeepan Bhumre also reviewed the proposal. Karad in his meeting announced that the new water scheme of Rs 1680 crore (which has been revised to Rs 2700 crore) has been included to be done under Amrit 2.0 scheme. He also claimed that the additional work of Rs 193 crore will also be done under the central government's scheme. On other hand, Bhumre in his meeting claimed that the state government will fund the 'booster' scheme.

Every year, the citizens face water scarcity and inconvenience during the summer. Hence the MVA government was to provide relief to the citizens by immediately replacing the damaged pipeline of 700 mm size pipeline (the old water supply scheme through which the AMC draws water from Jayakwadi Dam). Hence, it is unpredictable who will be funding and implementing or executing the 'booster' scheme, but, surely, the citizens will have to face inconvenience in the coming summer.