Rs 84-cr Karnal project work tardy, likely to miss another deadline

rveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, February 14

The project of laying storm water drain lines, installing rainwater harvesting system and intermediate pumping stations with the cost of Rs 84 crore is likely to miss the deadline of March 31 as still a lot of work is pending. Earlier, the project had already missed three deadlines.

For recharging groundwater, the Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) had initiated the project of laying storm water drain lines and installing water harvesting systems along with the intermediate pumping stations under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. Under the project, a Delhi-based company has to lay 37,634 metre storm water drain lines, four rainwater harvesting systems in Jhanjhari, Uchana, Dholgarh and Saidpura and three intermediate pumping stations at Meri Ghati, Saidpura, and Sector 4 here.

Project targeted for March 31

The project was started on July 21, 2017, and the first deadline was September 2019, but it had to be extended till March 2020. Later, due to the lockdown, it was further extended to September 2020 and then to March 31, 2021. — Satish Kumar, XEN, Karnal MC

The project was started on July 21, 2017, and the first deadline was September 2019, but it had to be extended till March 2020. Later, due to the lockdown, it was further extended to September 2020 and then to March 31, 2021, said Satish Kumar, XEN, KMC.

So far, around 31,000 meter drain lines have been laid, while around 50 per cent work on the water harvesting systems of Saidpura and Jhanjhari has been completed. A large chunk of work is yet to be completed on the water harvesting systems in Uchana and Dholgarh.

Similarly, the work of installing intermediate pumping stations is also running at slow pace as only 30 per cent work at Meera Ghati, around 15 per cent at Saidpura and 25 per cent at Sector 4 has been completed.

The officials maintained that earlier last year, the agency was served notice allegedly for delay in laying the drain lines and installing water harvesting systems and intermediate pumping stations.

“After joining the office, I had reviewed the projects. I observed the slow pace of the project due to a delay by the company. I had held a series of meetings with the officials of the company and pushed them to complete it by March 2021, followed by which we are hopeful that it will meet the deadline,” said Vikram Singh, Commissioner, KMC.