Residents of Kavundampalayam, Vadavalli and Veerakeralam will soon have to cough up money in one-time deposit and monthly water usage charges for the water the Coimbatore Corporation will supply them after implementing the water supply improvement scheme.
The Corporation Council on Friday approved the move to collect deposit and water charges from the residents after the Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services Limited (TNUIFSL) asked it to do so.
The TNUIFSL had written to the Corporation on March 9, 2015 for this purpose.
Estimate
The TNUIFSL had said that as per the revised estimate the cost of the project would be Rs. 103.01 crore.
The TNUIFSL loan would be Rs. 61.80 crore, subsidy from financial and donor agencies would be Rs. 30.90 crore and the Corporation’s share would be Rs. 10.31 crore. The civic body’s initial proposal though was only for Rs. 42.55 crore.
In its December 2013 resolution, the civic body had said that it would spend the Rs. 42.55 crore in five phases to improve water supply in the three added areas.
The civic body had planned to get Rs. 31.41 crore from the State Government for implementing the project. It was to get the rest as subsidy from donor agencies.
In short, the cost of the Corporation’s project to improve water supply in the areas had gone up from Rs. 42.55 crore to Rs. 103.01 crore and it had also decided to collect money from the members of the public.
The proposal to collect money was not part of the December 2013 resolution.
Project cost
Sources in the engineering wing said that the increase in project cost had to do with the civic body taking up additional components like linking Pilloor II drinking water pipeline to supply water to the areas, laying pumping main, distribution main and constructing overhead tanks.
The original proposal was only for replacing the distribution pipelines.
The Council passed the resolution without a debate.
None of the councillors from Kavundampalayam, Vadavalli or Veerakeralam raised the issue of members of the public having to pay deposit or water charges.
