The fate of the Piravom water supply scheme aimed at augmenting the water supply to Kochi and adjoining areas will be decided on Tuesday.
The expert committee formed to evaluate the feasibility of an alternative route for laying pipelines will meet at Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday to finalise its report. The project has been hanging fire following opposition from local bodies in Piravom against the cutting open of the main road from Piravom to Ernakulam for laying the pipelines.
The State government had appointed a committee headed by Susan Jacob, technical member of the Kerala Water Authority, to check the viability of an alternative route suggested by the local bodies. The alternative proposal was to take the pipeline through Vettikkal area. However, on inspection, it was found that the laying of pipe through the route would incur recurring expenses, said a member of the committee.
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The only viable proposal before the committee is to lay the pipeline from Pazhoor to Aarakunnam and from there to Mulanthuruthy, Kandanad, Tripunithura and Valanthakaad to reach Maradu.
The proposal is to pump water from Pazhoor to an overhead tank at Arakunnam. Water thus collected in the tank would flow through the pipelines by the force of gravity to reach the treatment plant at Maradu.
The 23-km-long route is the only viable one before the expert committee. The committee will finalise the proposals at Tuesday's meeting. The report will be submitted to the State government shortly, a committee member said.
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The water supply scheme, funded by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, was to be completed by 2012 March. Going by the indications, the project was likely to be completed by December.
If the project was implemented as per the revised schedule, there would not be any significant cost overrun. If the schedules of the works that had been awarded were changed, it might lead to cost overrun, he said.