Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Massive blunders are being committed in the new water supply scheme by the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP). These mistakes are not only delaying the project but also leading to a literal waste of crores of rupees. Despite this, the system is showing no signs of improvement. This raises a serious question—are these errors being made to benefit certain contractors? Notably, the Bombay High Court is reviewing the progress of the scheme every month.
A new water supply project worth ₹2,740 crore is being implemented for the city. From the very beginning, officials, employees, and contractors have collectively mishandled the project. Initially, large 2500 mm diameter pipelines needed for the water network were being manufactured in Nakshatrawadi itself, but the experiment failed. Later, pipes had to be procured from other states. After laying the pipeline, a national highway was built over it. If the pipeline bursts in the future, a vehicle could be thrown 150–200 feet into the air!
It took six months just to determine whose fault it was. Eventually, a decision was made to install iron barricades at the cost of around ₹20 crore to prevent vehicular movement over the pipeline. It was also decided to widen the narrow road on the opposite side of the pipeline. It came to light that air valves were installed incorrectly. Even the butterfly valves used in the pipeline became a controversial issue. For a 40 km long pipeline, 3 to 4 surge tanks are required but MJP officers completely forgot about this. Four months ago, the municipal corporation had to purchase private land near Chitegaon for a surge tank.
Though six overhead water tanks were built in the city, pipelines connecting them haven’t been laid. These are just a few of the numerous errors in the project.
900 mm pipeline also mishandled
Until the new water scheme gets completed, a temporary solution was implemented: a 900 mm diameter water pipeline was laid at a cost of ₹200 crore to quench the city’s thirst. But that pipeline has already broken six times. The water treatment plant built for this supply is barely functioning. Even the trial runs have failed.
Who is responsible for these mistakes? Who will bear the costs? Ultimately, the entire city is being forced to suffer for MJP's mistakes.
What do experts say?
When implementing such a large-scale project, proper planning is extremely important, and all planning must be properly documented. If there are shortcomings during implementation, they must be brought to the attention of political leaders and the government. In this case, the High Court is monitoring the project and the issues should be raised there.
The mistakes made since the start of this scheme are not forgivable. They are very serious. As a reputed agency in the state, MJP was entrusted with the project. A few mistakes might be understandable, but how can there be repeated and countless errors?
The project shouldn’t be left solely in the hands of junior and deputy engineers. Executive and superintending engineers are also responsible. Besides, a Project Management Consultant (PMC) is in place. These outcomes are the result of not taking things seriously. The system should not work under pressure, nor should issues be postponed under the mindset of "we'll deal with it later." It’s not that the officials don’t understand what’s going on. They understand everything, said a retired city engineer (CSMC) C S Soni.