The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has decided to fast-track its long-pending bottling unit project after severe strictures from the Assembly Assurance Committee. The utility has invited fresh tenders to develop the unit at Aruvikkara.
“We have revised the project estimate and split the work into civil, plant and machinery, and electrical. The last day for bidding is April 17,” a senior official with KWA told The Hindu .
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The Assembly Assurance Committee had recently pulled up the utility for not fulfilling an assurance it had given to the Assembly. “Since the project was conceived in 2007, the KWA officials gave us three dates for the commissioning of the plant. So far, nothing concrete has happened. We visited the site and found only the foundation stone which was laid in 2010. We were compelled to summon senior officials recently,” V.S. Sunil Kumar, MLA, chairman of the Assembly Assurance Committee, said.
The committee had warned the utility of stern action if it failed to expedite the project, he said. The plant would have an impact on private firms involved in water business, and so there could be efforts to scuttle the project.
“A section of officers within KWA are working against the project,” Mr. Sunil Kumar said. The committee had submitted a report to the government in 2012 highlighting the benefits of setting up the plant, he added.
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7,500 litres an hour
The project, conceived as a step towards revenue generation, was to set up a plant with a capacity to produce 7,500 litres of potable water an hour.
Technology
The plant would use reverse osmosis technology with ultraviolet and ozone sterilisation to produce quality packaged drinking water.
The plan, the official said, was to market drinking water in 500-ml and 1- , 2- , and 15-litre cans.
The water would initially be sold to government offices and undertakings, canteens, guest houses, and the Secretariat.
“We have decided to fast-track the project and assured the committee of early completion of the project,” the official said.
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