Pointing to the inefficiency and mismanagement by urban local bodies in the maintenance of water and sewage treatment plants, Urban Development Minister U.T. Khader said that the task will now be taken up by the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWSDB).
In his interaction with presspersons here on Tuesday, he said that the KUWSDB will build, operationalise and take up the maintenance of the treatment plants.
“Currently, the KUWSDB builds water projects up to the jackwell and pumps and provides water in bulk. The responsibility of further supplying the water to each house rests with the local administration. The similar is the case with underground drainage (UGD). We build sewage treatment plants (STPs) and hand them over to local administrations. But, local bodies don’t maintain them and in most cities, the STPs are defunct. If we question the local bodies, they give a number of reasons such as staff and money crunch. That is why we have decided to take the responsibility of maintaining the treatment plants also. The local bodies will then have to distribute the water to each house in the city,” he said.
When asked about the drinking water crisis in Kalaburagi, the Minister said that most of the cities in the State were facing a similar problem owing to the short-sighted drinking water projects implemented in the past.
“Urban population rises by 10% every year. Most of our drinking water supply projects were meant for meeting the immediate requirements. Thanks to the rapid urbanisation, our population has grown and these projects are not able to meet today’s requirements. That is why we are now designing our new projects keeping in mind the requirement for the next 30 years,” Mr. Khader said.
Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge, Gulbarga North MLA Kaneez Fatima and others were present.
Later in the day, Mr. Khader, along with Mr. Kharge and Corporation Commissioner Fouzia Tarannum, was taken around the city. He visited the sewage treatment plant at Kapanur on the outskirts of the city, Indira Canteen at the district hospital premises, and other areas and took stock of the condition.
