State water supply minister to review progress of new water supply scheme

Aurangabad, Feb 23:

The new water supply scheme valuing Rs 1680 crore has been launched to meet the quench the thirst of the city's population in the year 2050. The work is going on for the past year, but the task of laying the main pipeline is going

on at snail's pace. Meanwhile, the state's water supply minister Gulabrao Patil will soon be conducting a meeting with all concerned officers to review the progress of the project.

The Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) has been appointed as the nodal agency by the state government. The project is implemented by a Hyderabad-based GVPR (private) company. The company was supposed to focus on laying the main pipeline from Jayakwadi to Nakshatrawadi, but the company is engaged in laying pipelines in the city limits. Earlier, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has recently granted permission to lay main pipelines adjacent to the national highway (Paithan Road). It also agreed upon helping in the land acquisition.

The company is expected to start manufacturing main pipelines. The GVPR will first have to obtain technical clearance for the pipe prior to its usage. The construction of the elevated storage reservoirs (ESRs) in different parts of the city is also halted. The company has been reminded several times to focus on laying the main pipelines, but the work is yet to be started.

The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) administrator A K Pandey said," It is true that the work is going on at a low speed. There is a need to lay the main pipelines. Meanwhile, a meeting to review the progress of works

will soon be held in presence of the water supply minister Gulabrao Patil and the member secretary of MJP. I hope the works get speed up after the meeting."