Rs 700-cr plan to clean your water flops….Kunal Purohit
COLOSSAL WASTE Another R200 crore will be spent by the BMC on tackling water contamination in the next two years
COLOSSAL WASTE Another R200 crore will be spent by the BMC on tackling water contamination in the next two years
A day after Hindustan Times published a report on how water supplied to Mumba in July was severely contami nated, serious questions are being raised over an ambitious programme initiated by the civic body four years ago to pro vide clean water to the city which has spent Rs700 crore so far.
The Brihanmumba Municipal Corporation (BMC) had announced the programme, , Sujal Mumbai Abhiyan, in 2007.
Retired deputy municipal commissioner PR Sanglikar i called the abhiyan a disaster. “It was nothing but a hare-brained idea, meant to keep pumping in funds and lure citizens with false promises. After four years, we are as far away from contamination-free water as we were, four years back.“ Hindustan Times had, on f Saturday, reported how nine out c of 24 samples collected from a three major reservoirs in July i were found to have “infinite“ g presence of E.coli, bacteria found in human and animal faeces. Civic officials privately admit that water with such an infinite presence of E.coli is as good as sewage water.
Civic officials too agree that the abhiyan has failed to tackle contamination so far.
Ramesh Bambale, the BMC’s hydraulic engineer, said, “In the initial phases, the funds ended up being used for various other works, instead of focusing on tackling contamination and enhancing supply.
These works included civil work on pipelines and fixing of valves. Hence, the abhiyan had somewhat lost its focus in tackling contamination. However, we have improved the abhiyan.
These works included civil work on pipelines and fixing of valves. Hence, the abhiyan had somewhat lost its focus in tackling contamination. However, we have improved the abhiyan.
Rs 200 crore will be spent in the next two years to specifically tackle contamination.“
Unfazed by the criticism, the civic standing committee on Friday approved an expenditure of another Rs200 crore for the abhiyan over the next two years. The approval was made without any debate.
`LEVELS OF BACTERIA IN WATER SHOCKING’
EXPERTS AND RETIRED officials are shocked at the recorded contamination levels at the three reservoirs, which supply water to major areas in the western suburbs. Insiders said any breakdown on contamination at reservoirs would have serious repercussions on the water supply in the city. This is because the reservoirs are the last chance of purifying the water before it reaches your taps.