The Hindu : Front Page : Jalanidhi project to be redesigned

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Friday, Jun 29, 2007
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Jalanidhi project to be redesigned

Special Correspondent

N.K. Premachandran says the Government is negotiating with the World Bank.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The World Bank-aided Rs.1,200-crore Jalanidhi project to provide piped water supply to areas in the State not getting the facility at present is being redesigned removing some of the conditions in its original version, Water Resources Minister N.K. Premachandran told the Assembly on Thursday.

Replying to the discussion on the demands for grants for his department, Mr. Premachandran said the State Government was negotiating with the World Bank certain changes in the conditions set by it for implementing the project.

The bank had indicated its willingness to accept the proposed changes, he said.

One change pertained to reducing the beneficiaries’ contribution towards the expense of schemes taken up under the project. For beneficiaries belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, the contribution will be reduced to five per cent, with the option to even fulfil their obligation by providing manual labour while implementing the schemes.

The Jalanidhi project was originally conceived as a string of small schemes covering compact areas left out of the existing drinking water supply network. Mr. Premachandran said that, since the funds at the disposal of the Government would be sizeable under this project, bigger schemes too would be planned. The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) too would associate with the Kerala Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency in carrying out the works, he said.

He said the KWA would complete 99 water supply schemes, including 27 major ones, during the current financial year. Describing the details of several ongoing big water supply schemes, he said the Rs.2,600-crore project aided by Japanese Bank for International Cooperation, which would benefit more than 43 lakh people, would be completed by August 2008.

Mullaperiyar issue

Mr. Premachandran said the State would strongly argue the need for constructing a new dam at Mullaperiyar to replace the more-than-a-century old lime and mortar dam there, when the case relating to the dispute over the strength of the existing dam next came up in the Supreme Court.

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