The review meeting presided over by the State Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik held on Tuesday stressed on finding a solution to the recurring water logging problem in the central part of the city during the monsoon season.
Other issues that figured in the meeting are installation of street lights, repairing of road, solving water scarcity and the like.
Kaushik and BHEl officers confronted one other over water logging problem with the Minister holding BHEl responsible for it and the BHEl officers affirming that it was not their prerogative to take up pumping projects.
The Minister also sought funds under CSR (corporate social responsibility) for implementing water pumping projects.
Notably, the people of Haridwar, particularly those from Chandracharya Chowk, Khanna Nagar, Naya Haridwar, Model Colony and Jwalapur, have been grappling with the water logging menace during the monsoon season for years. Rain water sweeps from Shivalik hills of Rajaji Tiger Reserve through BHEl residential colony and the locals blame BHEl for this.
Though BHEl made four reservoirs to hold water it is far from solving the problem. The Peyjal Nigam installed a reservoir at Chandracharya Chowk last year for draining water into upper Ganga canal through pipes, but it could not have either solved the problem permanently.
Kaushik said that with the State Government ready to lend its full support to initiatives to solve problem dogging the city permanently, BHEl should come forward to install two extra water holding reservoirs under CSR activity.
The general manager HR of BHEl S K Agarwal said, “The water coming from the forest areas, it is the collective responsibility of all to contribute their bit to solve the problem.
We have already dug four large ponds to hold water and we will dig two more in the coming days. However, we cannot afford to take up any new project under CSR, given our financial constraints.”
The urban development minister also gave directions to the electricity department to have street lights installed on all the poles of the city.
He warned the officials of stern action in case they fail to have things completed by 15 June.
The city mayor Manoj Garg said that Nagar Nigam has enough of street lights and said that Rs 500 would be given to the official who completes the work he is tasked with by way of an incentive.
The secretary of HRDA Arvind Pandey said that developmental works have been undertaken in 17 parks.
The urban development minister expressed his displeasure over absenteeism of the district welfare officer from the meeting.