Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) had spent Rs 2.97 crore on the repair and maintenance of its 700 mm and 1200 mm width old pipelines. The municipal corporation to quench the thirst of the citizens lifts the water through these old pipelines from the Jayakwadi Dam and these pipelines had already completed their life expectancy periods, about a decade or more ago.
An alert citizen obtained the information under the Right to the Information Act.
The then municipal council laid the first pipeline of 700 mm width in 1972. It has completed a life expectancy of 20 years. Later on, the civic body laid another pipeline of 1200 mm width in 1982 and it also completed its life expectancy period 10 years ago. These pipelines had sustained leakages in them, but continue to function with the patches made to seal the leakages.
It was necessary to lay another independent pipeline in 2005, but it was not possible for the municipal corporation. Now, under the ambitious new water supply scheme of valuing Rs 2740 crore, the main pipeline of 2500 mm width is being laid down. The project aims to cater to the demand for water for the population of the city in 2050. Meanwhile, the new scheme will become operational at full capacity from 2025. Hence the municipal corporation has to rely on lifting and supplying water to the citizens through these 700 mm and 1200 mm width old pipelines. These pipelines witness technical snags like leakages, bursting and damages, etc. This creates an impact on the city as it halts the water supply of the city for hours at a stretch. The civic officials had never revealed the amount spent on the repair and maintenance of these pipelines.
The citizen Suraj Ajmera sought the details of the repair and maintenance of these pipelines along with the expenses under the Right to Information Act, the statistics provided by the water supply section stated that Rs 1.33 crore was spent on these pipelines in 2020-21; Rs 99.76 lakh in 2021-22 and Rs 63.82 lakh in 2022-23.