Meerut’s urban dreams die in its half-done drains
A Jal Nigam official told FE that the sewage network under construction lacks capacity and would collapse within a decade as population grows. This means a key mission objective – securing linkages between asset creation and maintenance for long-run project sustainability – is not being met.
The Meerut sewage project envisages laying 243 km of pipelines for waste disposal within municipal limits. The project, which was slated for completion by March 2012, now has a new deadline of September 2013. But given the pace of work and lackadaisical approach of implementing agencies, even the new deadline seems hard to achieve.
A city development plan of around Rs 1,400 crore was prepared for Meerut in 2006 under which around Rs 235 crore was to be allotted for the sewage network, Rs 341 crore for water supply and storm water drains, around Rs 25 crore for solid waste management, Rs 300 crore for roads and transportation, Rs 358 crore for urban renewal and the rest for municipal reforms and capacity building. Only one project – roads and transport under which 150 low-floor buses were to be procured – was completed on time.
Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam was made the implementing agency for sewage, water supply and waste management works and Meerut Nagar Nigam was the monitoring
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