The process of acquiring forest land for the Godavari Drinking Water Supply Project has gained momentum with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) paying Rs. 2.7 crore to the Forest Department for the 50 acres of land it wants to acquire.
The money is for plantation of trees in the compensatory afforestation land the Board is providing at Murmur in Karimnagar district. The final clearance for handing over of sites and physical possession of the land will be completed by August end.
The Board urgently needs 25 acres of land for construction of 150 ml capacity Master Balancing Reservoir (MBR) at Ghanpur near Shamirpet and another 25 acres for laying pipeline through Karimnagar, Medak and Ranga Reddy districts.
Since the MBR work is expected to be completed by August 2014, as an alternative the Board is planning to build a cistern with three ml capacity which could be ready by March next.
This is one of the five alternatives being explored. The laying of 12.8 km long pipeline through the forest land will be completed by March 2014.
Other components of the Rs. 3,375 crore project which aims to draw 172 mgd (10 tmc) of water to the city are also progressing at a brisk pace. So far pipeline has been laid for a distance of 138 km out of the total length of 186 km. “We have manufactured 172 km pipes and there is no problem,” said M. Satyanarayana, Director, Project, HMWSSB.
Civil works
Other civil works too are in full swing. The intake channel, officials say, will be completed by December and the intake well-cum-pump house by March next. Similarly the 80 ml capacity reservoirs and pump houses at Bommakal and Kondapaka are expected to be ready by March next. “Right now the column foundations and side wall reinforcement and shuttering works are in progress,” Mr. Satyanarayana said.
The water treatment plants comprising raw water reservoir, clariflocculators, filter beds, chemical house, chlorination building and ancillary works have been completed to an extent of 60 per cent. As far as the electro mechanical works are concerned, procurement of electrical panels, transformers, circuit brakers required for all the four sub stations have been completed to an extent of 80 per cent. The installation works are in progress. “All electro mechanical works are programmed to be completed by March 2014,” officials say.
The Ring Main I and Ring Main II works are also expected to be completed by March 2014. They are essential for distribution of water from the Master Balancing Reservoir at Ghanpur to the existing reservoirs at Lingampally and Sainikpuri.
