Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
To increase the city's water supply capacity, the Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court comprising Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Ashwin Bhobe, on Wednesday, directed Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) to hold an urgent meeting with the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) and resolve the issue of providing 3 additional electric motors and other works relating to emergency water supply scheme.
Currently, the city is receiving 20 MLD of water from the newly laid 900 mm diameter pipeline from the Jayakwadi Dam. In reality, the city requires 75 MLD of water daily. To increase the water supply, an additional 3 electric motors are required. Advocate Sambhaji Tope pointed out that with these additional motors, the full capacity of the water supply can be utilised, and the city will be able to receive the necessary 75 MLD of water every day.
Solve the land issue for 'surge tank'
When there is an unexpected power supply disruption, a significant amount of water supplied to the city from the Jayakwadi flows back through the pipelines. To prevent this, a fourth ‘surge tank’ is required. The Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited (MSETCL) has been instructed to hold a meeting with the MJP and resolve the land issue for the fourth tank near the 33 KV substation at Isarwadi. The court has also directed that information about this be provided at the next hearing.
To prevent the water from flowing back into the pipelines, the municipal corporation needs to set up four surge tanks. Land is available at three of these locations except Isarwadi. The land on the eastern side of the water pipeline at Isarwadi is required by the MSETCL for a new solar energy project, and they have refused to provide that plot. However, the company is willing to provide a plot of land to the north instead said, Advocate Anil Gaikwad to the court.
Internal road issues in the city
For the new water supply scheme, the contractor has dug up the roads to lay 1,900 km of internal pipelines in the city, but the roads have not been repaired as they were. Hence Adv Tope pointed out that, as per the agreement, the contractor was paid Rs 77 crore for the reconstruction of these roads. He also mentioned that due to the current water supply being less than required, the municipal corporation is unable to provide water for the hydraulic testing of the pipelines. Veteran lawyers Rajendra Deshmukh, Sanjeev Deshpande, Adv Vinod Patil, Manvatkar, and Mukhedkar participated in the hearing online.