The Telangana government has sanctioned Rs 1,200 crore to Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) for improving drinking water supply to urban local bodies and gram panchayats around Greater Hyderabad. The project will cater to the drinking water requirements of these areas till 2036.
The department of municipal administration and urban development accorded administrative sanction for the construction of additional service reservoirs for 137 UMLD and the laying of additional pipelines for 2,100 kilometres. These are for providing adequate drinking water supply for ULBs and gram panchayats falling within Outer Ring Road (ORR) and outside Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) under the jurisdiction of HMWS&SB.
HMWS&SB had already implemented a water supply project for 190 villages situated beyond GHMC and within ORR limits at a cost of Rs 756.56 crore under Annuity Mode of Contract. Under this project, 164 reservoirs of 70 ML capacity, 1,600 km length of pipeline network were developed and house service connections were provided. The project was successfully completed and commissioned.
According to Managing Director, HMWS&SB, the housing colonies situated beyond the Gramakanta extent of villages were not covered in this project. Various residential welfare associations approached the government and requested to extend the water supply infrastructure to their colonies on par with the Mission Bhageerata program to provide water supply connection to every house as per the government's policy.
The government had directed him to submit the proposals for developing required infrastructure to all such housing colonies which are situated beyond the Gramakanta of villages.
The HMWS&SB had engaged NCPE Consulting Engineers Pvt. Ltd for preparation of Detailed Project Report (DPR) and the consultant submitted the DPR proposals for providing water supply to extended areas of ORR villages.
The DPR components comprise the construction of storage reservoirs for 737 ML capacity, laying of inlets, outlets and distribution network for 2,108 km length and providing house service connections to BPL families and other components of providing chlorination rooms, restoration of roads, statutory and other provisions, etc.
The proposals were designed by the consultant to cater to water supply requirements of the prospective year 2036 for the projected population of 33.92 lakhs. The LPCD was considered as per CPHEEO (Central Public Health Environmental Engineering Organisation) norms. The consultant has prepared the estimates by taking the current SSR rates.
The total cost of the DPR proposals was arrived at by the consultant at Rs 1,200 crore and MD, HMWS&SB had submitted the proposals to the government.