The government has decided to scrap the tenders finalised with two firms--Deccan Company and Smart Aqua--as they failed to sign agreements to set up reverse osmosis (RO) plants for the supply of safe drinking water in identified villages in 12 districts.
Former Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy had launched the ‘Sujala' project to set up these plants through private participation on BOOT basis. After calling tenders, the government finalised the bids submitted by five firms. Three of them--Swiss Tech, ATM and Waterhealth India--are already running the plants in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Kurnool, Nizamabad, Warangal and Khammam districts.
However, the other two firms, Deccan Company and Smart Aqua, have not signed even the required agreements.
Rural Water Supply Minister P. Viswarooop said on Tuesday fresh tenders would be called to cover the remaining districts earmarked for these two companies.
Chitra Ramachandran, Principal Secretary, Rural Water Supply, and B. Rajeswara Rao, Engineer-in-Chief, Rural Water Supply, said the firms would have to supply 20 litres of purified water to each family at Rs 2 a litre from the plant and at Re 1 for SCs and STs.
‘No water shortage'
The Minister asserted that no village in the State faced water shortage during summer as a huge sum of Rs 280 crore was kept at the disposal of Collectors. Water was supplied through tankers to 1,800 villages.
As many as 17,565 out of 28,452 petitions received during Praja Patham relating to drinking water supply had been attended to. While 63,659 out of 70,462 schools in the State had been covered with safe drinking water facility so far, the rest would be covered by next year-end.
