Pune: The trial run of the metered water supply will start in a fortnight in five selected areas of the city.
The results of the trial run, also termed the pilot project, will be used to implement the 24X7 water supply scheme. The tenders for the water supply project were approved by the Pune Municipal Corporation (
PMC)’s standing committee on Monday.
Murlidhar Mohol, the chairman of the committee, told reporters, “We have instructed the civic officials to take necessary steps for installing the meters for the pilot project.” He also stressed the ground work of the project should start within 15 days. Nearly 6,000 meters have to be fitted for the trial run in the five areas — about 1,200 in each selected area.
According to PMC officials, they had planned the pilot project in 2013. It was to be carried out in five areas — Sahakarnagar, Katraj, Vimannagar, Bhavani Peth and Nagpur Chawl. The results of the project were expected by the end of 2014. But it could not be implemented because only a few firms came forward to install the meters.
A PMC official said, “These areas have been chosen because the installation of meters will be easy there. Basic paper works and planning for installation of meters have been done. The pilot project will check the imbalance in the distribution system at a small scale. It will also find solutions to it. These will be implemented on a larger scale in the actual project,” said a PMC official.
PMC has plans to roll out a metered 24X7 water supply system. As many as 103 water tanks will be built across the city under the scheme. Other key components of the project include laying 1,600km pipelines and installation of meters. The deadline is 2020-21.
The corporation at present supplies 1,150 MLD (million litres per day) water for the city’s 40 lakh population. The city lacks a metering system and citizens pay a lump sum tax up to Rs1,100 per year irrespective of the volume of water they use, another PMC official said.
