Ludhiana: Bought in 2021, ₹4-cr water pipes gathering dust, rust
A municipal corporation (MC) official requesting anonymity stated that during that time, there was political pressure for not installing, and other speculation like the officials have purchased the pipes just to spend the money for their personal benefits.
In a classic waste of taxpayers’ money, water pipes worth ₹3-4 crore, purchased in 2021 under the Smart City Mission, remain unused for years, raising concerns over resource mismanagement.
These pipes, meant for Area-Based Development (ABD) in Sarabha Nagar, Ghumar Mandi and Gurdev Nagar, have been lying abandoned near Sarabha Nagar.
The issue came to light after some of these pipes were gutted in a fire near Pakhowal Road ROB, on Sunday.
The water pipes were procured under the Smart City project to improve the water supply network, but the work never progressed as planned.
According to information, some of these are high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes and some are of iron size varying 6 inch, 8 inch, 10 inch and up to 16 inch according to area density and its usage.
A municipal corporation (MC) official requesting anonymity stated that during that time, there was political pressure for not installing, and other speculation like the officials have purchased the pipes just to spend the money for their personal benefits.
MC commissioner Aaditya Dachalwal said, “A few days ago, the matter also came to my knowledge and I will mark an inquiry into this so that the exact reason should come into my knowledge and action will be taken on this issue.”
Rajya Sabha MP and Aam Aadmi Party nominee from west constituency, Sanjeev Arora, said, “These pipes were purchased during the previous government term and I have asked MC commissioner to form SIT into this issue so that proper investigation should be done in this regard and action will be taken.”
Residents and experts have questioned why such a large stock of pipes was purchased without a proper execution plan. “Public money is being wasted due to official apathy. If these pipes were not required immediately, why were they bought in bulk?” asked a local resident.
Jaskaran Singh, of Sarabha Nagar said, “MC always showcases its poor financial condition but in this way funds are being wasted with water pipes lying in Sarabha Nagar for the past several years, and no one is taking care of this. I request the state government to mark vigilance inquiry into the issue so that officials or any person behind this should be punished.”
Officials have yet to clarify why the project was delayed and how the pipes were left unattended, leading to financial losses and infrastructure decay.
