The Hindu

MANGALORE, Aug 31: Councillors expressed concern over the delay in the implementation of projects related to water supply and sanitation at a specially convened meeting of the Mangalore City Corporation here on Saturday.

Cutting across party lines, the councillors pointed out that they had been promising the people of early completion of the projects funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The projects, after completion, would double the quantity of water being supplied and add about 350-km long drainage lines in the city.

Agencies blamed

The councillors alleged that the construction agencies had failed to complete the tasks assigned, although the deadlines had expired sometime ago. Mayor Ganesh Hosabettu alleged that the details of work in progress were not being brought to the notice of the elected body.

Leader of the Opposition Harinath said that a booklet should be published listing out the ADB-funded projects undertaken in and around the city. The projects should have been handed over to the corporation by end of 2007 but the Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation (KUIDFC), which was implementing the project, had failed to do so.Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor Shantha Ravindra blamed lack of coordination between the corporation officials and those of KUIDFC for the tardy progress.

Allegation

The councillors said that the Karnataka Urban Development and Coastal Environmental Management Project (KUDCEMP), who were implementing the projects, had not responded properly to their complaints. Superintending Engineer of KUIDFC Syed Ilias Pasha said that laying of 800-km long pipeline had been completed. This would increase the quantity of water supply to the city by 80 million litres a day (MLD).

The laying of 14-km mainline from Thumbe was affected because of the widening work on the national highway and the delay in obtaining clearance from the Railways to lay the pipeline. Permission had now been obtained and the work would begin by October and completed by April next.

On the concreting of Balmatta-Mangalore Nursing Home Road, he said the corporation was unable to acquire a plot near the Corporation Bank and hence the KUIDFC could not complete the work. It had filled up a part of the road with mud and allowed movement of traffic. Executive engineer of KUDCEMP Maninarayan blamed the delay in strengthening drainage network on land acquisition problems. The entire network of 350 km would be ready by end of 2009.

The State had revised the deadline to March 2010, he said. The city corporation commissioner Sameer Shukla informed the Council that talks were on with the Mangalore Special Economic Zone Ltd. over handing over of sewage treatment plants for maintenance and using treated water.

The corporation would hand over the plants after discussing the details in the Council, he said.