When the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board resolved in July 2011 to recommend to the State government a self-imposed moratorium for at least five years on taking up underground sewerage schemes in new towns, the ‘sudden' revocation of the moratorium in September 2011 has raised suspicion and invited the wrath of the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board Workers' Federation, affiliated to the AITUC.
According to the federation's State vice-president K. K. N. Rajan, several problems were being faced in the execution of under ground sewerage scheme (UGSS).
Over the past years, the Board had abolished nearly 3,000 posts and 50 per cent posts in the existing positions remained vacant. No steps had been taken to fill these vacancies.
As for infrastructural facilities, field-level officers had not been provided with vehicles/drivers and other basic requirements. Inspecting work sites till completion of the project and for future maintenance, the officials had to be mobile. However, there were complaints of vehicle shortage, which forced the engineers to rely upon other means.
There were undue delays in completion of major water works due to many factors, which resulted in escalation of project cost. Again, the gap, which widened, was never bridged. The Hogenakkal project, for example, was planned at Rs. 400 crore, but ended up with Rs. 1,900 crore, Mr. Rajan pointed out.
Further, the government's decision to lower the cent age (establishment charge) for the TWAD Board had severely affected its revenue. The inaction to recover the ‘Himalayan' dues to the TWAD Board from the local bodies across the State had given an impression that the institution had turned ‘sick' and could be wound up.
The TWAD Board, with its qualified technocrats across the State, alone had the capacity and knowledge to install water works at all levels -– Corporations, Municipalities and Town panchayats -- across the State, he noted.
The top brass of the TWAD Board in a meeting in February 2011 discussed various points regarding implementation of the works from 2000 to 2010. The lessons learnt from the past and how to go about in the future were taken up for discussion. It was proposed at the meeting to have a self-imposed moratorium for at least five years from taking up the under ground sewerage scheme in any more new towns and accordingly, in July 2011, it was resolved to implement it. However, in September 2011, the Board had, through a resolution, revoked the self-imposed moratorium after a review meeting and decided to prepare detailed project reports for providing UGSS to all urban towns within three months.
The Federation raised apprehensions over the source of funds for implementing these projects as it might require several hundreds of crores, Mr. Rajan said.
