The Water Board is unlikely to keep the deadline of March for commissioning Krishna Phase III and Godavari drinking water projects. Both the projects are expected to be delayed by a few months since works are still in progress, while the Godavari water scheme is also dogged by litigation.
Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy had asked the Board to adhere to the deadline of March for completing the projects while laying the foundation stone for Krishna Phase III in June. Officials say they are doing their best to complete the projects but fear the work might get delayed.
The Board has laid pipeline to a distance of 50 km of the 110 km from Kodandapur to Sahebnagar for the Krishna phase III while construction of five reservoirs and three pump houses are in different stages of completion.
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The balance works are expected to be completed by April but still it would take few more months to commission the project, it is said.
Pipeline laid
In the case of Godavari project, pipeline has been laid to a distance of 154 km of the 186 km while construction of master balancing reservoir at Ghanpur poses a problem. Though the much delayed forest clearance has been obtained, litigation still holds up the reservoir work. The Board has spent Rs.100 crore towards compensation for acquisition of 2,000 acres of land, including private land, for the Rs. 3,700 crore project.
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“The works are expected to be completed by June or July,” a senior official said. The Board’s managing director J. Syamala Rao is holding a meeting on Tuesday to review the progress and look into the bottlenecks facing the projects.