Police to initiate MCOCA on attackers of water supply scheme

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

There has been a recent increase in attacks on officers and company personnel working on the new water supply scheme, leading to a growing sense of insecurity among officials. In response, Commissioner of Police (CP) Pravin Pawar has announced that any future attacks on project officials or staff will result in strict action under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

On Tuesday evening, a review meeting of the new water supply scheme was held under the chairmanship of Divisional Commissioner Dilip Gawde. The Municipal Corporation Administrator, G Sreekanth, CP, District Collector Deelip Swami, Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) Chief Engineer Manisha Palande and Executive Engineer Kiran Patil, and Mahendra Goglothu from GVPR Company, and others attended the meeting.

Roadmap of work on May 7

The review meeting also assessed the progress of the new water supply scheme as per the orders of the Bombay High Court. The court had directed authorities to prepare a detailed roadmap for the project, and accordingly, the MJP is set to submit the roadmap on May 7. The Municipal Administrator instructed that a copy of this roadmap should also be provided to the Municipal Corporation.

It was revealed during the meeting that 1.5 kilometres of pipeline laying work is still pending. Some obstacles at certain locations are being resolved and the work has resumed. It was also informed that necessary permissions from the Department of Forest and the Department of Irrigation have now been obtained.

Be honest about deadlines, officials warned

MJP had earlier assured that 200 MLD of water would be supplied to the city by April. However, it has now become clear that ensuring an adequate water supply this summer is not feasible. In the review meeting, officials were strictly warned not to give misleading deadlines. They were told that even if the work is delayed by a month, it is better to communicate realistic timelines rather than give false hopes. This warning was specifically directed at MJP officials during the discussions.

190 labourers at the Jack Well site

Just two weeks ago, there was a shortage of labour for the Jack Well construction, but now, 160 labourers are working daily, and a total of 190 workers have been deployed. It was also informed in the meeting that the water treatment plant at Nakshatrawadi is now in its final stages.

22 ESRs by May-end

Regarding the overhead water tanks, MJP said that 22 tanks will be ready for handover to the Municipal Corporation by the end of May. However, civic officials expressed scepticism over this claim. They instructed MJP to hand over only those tanks that are complete, rather than projecting numbers. Notably, hydraulic testing of the Delhi Gate overhead water tank has already been completed.