Only 36 out of 108 schemes implemented by Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (KRWSA) during 2002-04 are functioning or partially working either due to source failure or institutional mismanagement. This was revealed by an evaluation study by Investigation, Planning and Design wing of Kerala Water Authority (KWA) on the performance of ‘Jalanidhi’ schemes in Attappady. These projects incurred an expenditure of around Rs. 10 crore. Some of the schemes supply untreated raw water with high coliform content, the evaluation found.
One of the few schemes working is the potable drinking water being supplied to Kottathara Government Tribal Specialty Hospital..
In all other hospitals in Attappady, water is still directly pumped from the river and distributed without any treatment.
As per norm drinking water should not contain coliform bacteria and the residual chlorine should be 2 ppp (parts per million).
Similarly, the Rs.8 crore drinking water supply scheme implemented by Attappady Hill Area Development Society (AHADS) with the technical assistance of Socio-Economic Unit Foundation (SEUF) in 2010 ended up without any substantial progress in water supply sector, the study said. Its 95-km. long pipeline has not been charged yet.
The Rs.16 lakh pressure filter remained redundant. Now water cannot be pumped into the main overhead tank at Agali because of a major leak. Apart from KRWSA and AHADS, the two major players in water supply sector in Attappady, umpteen number of mini-water supply schemes, have been implemented by the panchayats.
