TMCnet News
Greater Bangalore water project on course(Ecomonic Times, The (India) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Feb. 13--It won't be long before the seven city municipal councils (CMCs) and one town municipal council (TMC) will have access to water supply and a drainage system. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board's (BWSSB) answer to the lack of these basic facilities in the outskirts of the city through the nearly Rs 802 crore Greater Bangalore water supply and sanitation project (GBWASP) is progressing full swing. Says Prahalad Rao, Public Relation Officer, BWSSB, "the whole project is divided into three phases where water supply will be taken up in the Phase I, sewerage component in Phase II and road restoration and laying in the Phase III. Earlier, a survey for providing connections was carried out by the BWSSB in 2002. Since a lot of development has taken place in CMCs like K R Puram, Mahadevapura , Bommanahalli, Rajarajeshwarinagar and Byatarayanapura, the report became outdated and fresh study covering the eight urban local bodies covering over 250 km was carried out. The study revealed that around 40 percent of urban areas were left out from the scheme. An additional estimate was prepared and retendered" . The water supply work costing Rs 410 crores is being carried out by the East Coast Constructions and L&T . The GBWASP was meant to provide 135 million litres per day (MLD) to the CMCs/TMC and initial figures of providing 1.2 lakh connections are now being revised to around two lakh connections. With this additional demand, the BWSSB has no option but to source 100 MLD of water through Cauvery Satge IV Phase I. A tender for augmentation of the Cauvery water from the main feeder has been floated. With all the these developments, water for all the two lakh connections will be provided by September 2006, while water for the 1.2 lakh connections will be through by March end. It may be noted here that supply to some of the CMCs has already been commissioned. On the funding for the water supply component, Prahalad said, "Rs 119.44 crores is being raised through user contribution, Rs 74 crores through state grants, Rs 100 crores through market borrowings , and Rs 56 crores through mega city loan from Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (KUIDFC)". The board plans to lay the underground drainage at a cost of Rs 303 crores in the second phase for which work will commence in November and road restoration work will be taken up after that at a cost of Rs 89 crores. The World Bank is expected to put in 80-85 percent of the funds for UGD and road restoration, and BWSSB expects to sign the final documents by September this year with the World Bank. But this phase will take at least two years from the time of approval. The BWSSB PRO said that it has submitted the designs and project appraisal for the UGD component to the World Bank for approval. |