While doubts are being expressed in some quarters about the feasibility of the Godavari drinking water project, hectic activity is on at the Water Board to complete it as per schedule by December 2013.
The other day, the Board managing director, J. Syamala Rao, and other top officials held a meeting with the Forest Department to speed up the pace of land acquisition.
The Board desperately requires 12 km of forest land in the three districts of Karimnagar, Medak and Ranga Reddy for laying pipeline and for the construction of a reservoir at Ghanpur. For this, the department is ready to compensate its own land at Murmur.
The Board is already in possession of the 1,826 acres of Revenue land which covers 174 km of the total 186 km of pipeline from Yellampally barrage in Karimnagar to Ghanpur in Ranga Reddy district. Till date, the pipeline has been laid for a length of nearly 104 km.
“We are confident of acquiring forest land at the earliest and completing the pipe laying works by June, ” said M. Satyanarayana, director, (Projects), HMWSSB.
Mired in land acquisition problems, the project is finally moving. The Maulana Abul Kalam Hyderabad Sujala Saravanthi scheme as the Godavari project is christened, aims at the drawal of 172 mgd (10 tmc) of water from the Yellampally barrage to augment drinking water supply.
Out of the total pipeline length of 186 km, so far 159 km length pipes have been manufactured. In package I, out of 53 kms pipe length 40 km is laid, package II, out of 75 km 37 kms is laid and in package III, 27 km is laid out of 57.50 km. Till date, the value of work done is Rs. 1,679 crore and payments amounting to Rs. 1,615.38 crore are made, including land acquisition payment of Rs. 88.60 crore.
Presently, work of raw water intake channel to a distance of 1.6 km at Murmur besides civil works and lining of canals is on. Construction of sump and pumphouse at Murmur is also on. These works cost Rs. 50 crore. Similarly, pipe laying works are going on at a brisk pace. About 20 groups of labour, welders and machines are deployed at different stretches. “Monthly targets have been fixed and we are doing our best to achieve them,” Mr. Satyanarayana said.
A water treatment plant, clear water reservoir and pump houses are under construction at Bommakal besides Mallaram and Kondapaka. Financial tie up of Rs.1,000 crore with HUDCO is already in place and there is no reason why the project will not materialise by next December, they say.
