E-Paper
Ludhiana MC initiates 1st phase of 24x7 water supply project
The Ludhiana municipal corporation on Thursday initiated the first phase of the 24x7 canal-based surface drinking water supply project in the city by floating a request for proposal (RFP) to design, build and operate a 580 MLD water treatment plant, associated transmission network and overhead service reservoirs
The Ludhiana municipal corporation on Thursday initiated the first phase of the 24x7 canal-based surface drinking water supply project in the city by floating a request for proposal (RFP) to design, build and operate a 580 MLD water treatment plant, associated transmission network and overhead service reservoirs (OHSRs).
Confirming the development, superintending engineer Ravinder Garg said the RFP has been floated by Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) and proposals can be submitted online between October 6 and December 12.
A total of ₹1,693.37 crore will be spent on the project in the first phase over a period of 10 years, of which ₹270.73 crore will be for maintenance. The proposal security will be ₹12.4 crore. The project was given the green signal during the general House meeting held recently.
Besides setting up water treatment plants and associated transmission networks, the civic body will establish 139 OHSRs at various locations in the city under the ₹3,394.45 crore World Bank (WB) funded project.
Officials said the city already has 77 reservoirs, while the remaining will be established under the project. They added that it will take around three years to complete the first phase.
Under the project, water meters will be installed at all properties in the city. To look after the maintenance of the project and water billing, the civic body is planning to set- up a water utility company, with the mayor as its chairperson, MC commissioner as managing director and councillors and other MC officials as directors. The water-sewer charges will be fixed by the MC House.
The first phase
In the first phase, a 580 million litres per day (MLD) water treatment plant will be set up in Bilga Village to treat surface water and a 165-km water supply line will be laid along the canal to supply water from the treatment plant to the overhead service water reservoirs.
The second phase
In the second phase, a distribution line will be laid across the city with a distribution system and house service connection with metering to ensure 24x7 canal-based water supply. Officials say it may take seven to eight years to complete the project, but surface water supply might start in some parts of the city after completion of the first phase.
Background of the project
It was in May 2018 that the central government had approved the project to supply surface water to Ludhiana, Amritsar and Patiala. The then local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu had stated that Ludhiana was proposed to be served through the Sidhwan canal.
The proposed works included water treatment facilities, transmission network, additional storage facilities and revamping of old and damaged distribution systems of the city area.
The canal-based water supply will reduce the burden on tubewell and plug the depletion of groundwater. There are around 1,000 tubewells in the industrial city from which MC was supplying almost 550 million litres daily (MLD) to over 20 lakh people living within city limits. Of these, over 100 tubewells are now lying defunct.
