The `71 crore Nanghat drinking water project, being executed to solve the water crisis of Pauri town, has failed to serve its purpose because of severe anomalies lurking in its construction and execution. Earlier, the people in this town had raised voice against the alleged graft involving the construction of this major project and taking cognizance of the people’s anger, then Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar had ordered a high-level inquiry headed by Garhwal Commissioner over a year back.
However, the probe is yet to be completed.Garhwal Commissioner CS Napalchyal said the probe was almost completed. On a request from the executing agency Peyjal Nigam, 20 days have been given to them to install generators in different places. “We will again inspect the project shortly,” he said.
The common refrain running on the project is that neither the State Government nor the administration shown any determination to plug the loopholes, take on corruption and correct the anomalies. This apathy is what is leading to funds being rampantly misused and squandered.
Pauri town, which is the regional and district headquarter, had been facing severe scarcity of drinking water despite the Alaknanda pumping scheme being located in Srinagar. Prior to Uttarakhand being carved out of the erstwhile Uttar Pradesh, the people had been demanding Nanghat scheme and in the early 1990s during the President’s Rule in Uttar Pradesh, then State Governor Moti lal Vohra green-lighted the project during his Pauri visit.
later, thanks to the efforts of the then Union Minister Maj Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri (retd), the drinking water scheme was approved in 2003. The Planning Commission had approved `5 crore for the project in the initial stage, but the release of funds was withdrawn later by the UPA Government at the Centre.
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna inaugurated the project on the State Foundation Day on November 9, 2012, but the inauguration turned out to be little more than a formality with the desired service proving elusive.
The locals had raised the demand for a high-level technical inquiry or a CBI inquiry into the negligence and misuse of funds involving the Nanghat water project. Subsequently, the Chief Secretary had ordered an inquiry by a committee headed by the Garhwal Commissioner.
The project was constructed by the Peyjal Nigam, Pauri and there were several executive engineers who were tasked with completing the dream project within the stipulated time. The project was initially gravity-based, but it was later linked with the pumping system established in Khand, particularly for the summer months when the volume of water lessens at the source.
The cost of the project had meanwhile escalated from `43.28 crore to `71.37 crore.The Nanghat natural water source is located in the remote area of Thalisain Tehsil in Pauri district and it is flanked by forest. The project was designed to supply 4.25 MlD water per day. According to information from the department, in the first phase of the project, 2.6 MlD water is being supplied to Pauri town. One filter of 2.6 MlD capacity was installed whereas one reservoir of 13500 kilo liters capacity was constructed at Nagdev. 4.25 MlD water is supposed to be distributed in the second phase of the project in 2017.
The length of the pipeline of the project is 68.21 kilometer from the natural source Nanghat to Pauri town. So far `62 crore has been spent and the rest is being spent in the work still left incomplete.
The technical experts pointed out that the DI pipes used in the scheme were not suitable for the mountainous areas as they are generally used in the plains. The question being asked is — as to why the Peyjal Nigam had installed DI pipes covering a length of 46.21 km. It is being alleged that the DI pipes had been purchased by the relative of one of the executive engineers involved in the construction of the project. Due to the pressure of water, the gaskets are loosened, causing leakage.
The locals are complaining that despite `70 crore having been spent, the supply had remained suspended by the Nanghat drinking water project for the past 15 days. Besides, the water supplied from Nanghat project on Sunday was black and muddy. The locals alleged that things were so due to the defective construction.