Date:27/04/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/04/27/stories/2008042754960500.htm

Kerala - Alappuzha

Rs.750-crore drinking water projects get nod

Staff Reporter

To be completed within three years, says Premachandran

To be implemented with NABARD aid
Rs.156 crore project for Alappuzha municipality, eight panchayats

ALAPPUZHA: The State government has approved drinking water projects worth over Rs.750 crore to be completed within the next three years, Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran has said.

Speaking after the inaugural of the project office of the Rs.156-crore drinking water project for Alappuzha here on Saturday, Mr. Premachandran said projects, including 30 pending ones, together worth Rs.900 crore, were submitted for approval, out of which projects worth Rs.750 crore were approved at a single go. This was the first time in the history of the State that projects worth such a large amount were being approved at the same time, he said.

The State government aimed at completing these projects within three years and to ensure supply of drinking water to all regions. The projects would be implemented with help from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), he said.

The Rs.156 crore-project for Alappuzha municipality and the eight surrounding panchayats of Purakkad, Alappuzha South, Alappuzha North, Punnapra South, Punnapra North, Aryad, Mararikulam South and Mannancherry, was being implemented with a Central assistance of Rs.91.94 crore sanctioned by the Union Urban Development Ministry under its Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns (UIDSSMT).

The project, which envisages bringing water from Kadapra in Pathanamthitta, will have pipelines carrying water from Pamba River at Cyclemukku in Kadapra to a water treatment plant at Karumadi. The treated water will then be distributed to the selected areas.

The project cost for Alappuzha municipality would be around Rs.97 crore, while for the eight grama panchayats, it would be around Rs.60 crore. The State government will provide 10 per cent of the total cost of the project.

Over 2.15 lakh people in Alappuzha are expected to benefit from the project at a daily supply rate of 135 litres per person.

The project office opened on Saturday would be a division office for the UIDSSMT, under which an agreement had been signed for the project between the Minister of Urban Development, the Kerala Water Authority and the Alappuzha municipality.

The project was necessitated because of the abnormally high content of fluoride in Alappuzha’s groundwater and is expected to be completed in two years, Mr. Premachandran said. K.C. Venugopal, MLA, P.P. Chittaranjan, municipal chairman, and others were present.