Inching closer to making the city’s ambitious 24x7 water supply project a reality, the Chandigarh municipal corporation (MC) will be finalising a long-term technical adviser (LTTA) by mid-June as they have shortlisted six consultants. Also, the civic body will be floating a request for qualification (RFQ) by next week. The residents of the first phase - (Sectors 1 to 30) are expected to get 24 X7 water by December 2024.
In December last year, the MC and the French government’s Agence Francaise de Developpement (AFD) had signed the final project agreement.
‘Tenders to be floated by next week’
Municipal commissioner Anindita Mitra said, “The consultant will be finalised by the next month, and he will work on the project for the next five years. As far as the RFQ is concerned, we will be floating tenders by the next week and the agency will be finalised for 15 years that will work on design-build-operate (DBO) basis. We are hopeful that residents of the first phase will get water by December 2024 and the entire city will be covered by 2028.”
Conceived nearly seven years ago, the project has a financial outlay of ₹578 crore of which ₹412 crore is being provided by the AFD in the form of a loan to be repaid in 15 years. In addition, the European Union will also be giving a grant of ₹100 crore for the project, while Chandigarh Smart City Limited will foot ₹68 crore of the total cost.
The project will be implemented phase-wise, for which the city has been divided into 55 district metering areas (DMAs), comprising nearly one sector, the first of which will receive round-the-clock water supply by 2024. The entire city is expected to be covered by 2028.
{{/usCountry}}The project will be implemented phase-wise, for which the city has been divided into 55 district metering areas (DMAs), comprising nearly one sector, the first of which will receive round-the-clock water supply by 2024. The entire city is expected to be covered by 2028.
{{/usCountry}}How the project will help
The project aims at avoiding wastage of water by minimising storage of water by the public through 24x7 continuous high-pressure supply. Other objectives include water resource augmentation through leakage reduction, smart metering, limited dependence on groundwater and monitoring of energy consumption.
Sensors in the supply system will measure water consumption, water levels and water flow rates on a real-time basis. The smart meters will provide consumers with data to help them monitor their usage and reduce costs, and also allow remote monitoring and billing.
Nearly 270 km of the city’s water supply network, which is not conducive for supply of high-pressure water, will also be replaced through the project
Manimajra to get 24 X 7 water by Feb next year
The resident of Manimajra will be getting 24 X7 water supply by February next year. The work on the construction of two underground water reservoirs is underway. The project is a part of the pilot project under the Smart City project. As per the record, out of 15,000 smart meters, 3,000 meters have already been installed. Both the UGRs will have 2 MGD (million-gallon capacity) per day capacity. They will first get water from Sector 26 water works and supply it to residents of Manimajra. The pilot project has two segments, capital work and the installation of water meters. Around ₹70 crore will be spent on capital works while the remaining ₹90 crore will be for maintenance works over the next 15 years.