Rs302 cr spent in 5 years but Ytl no closer to getting tap water

Yavatmal: Five years after the central government sanctioned the Amrut Drinking Water Scheme for Yavatmal in 2016-17, the over five lakh residents are yet to see any water flowing from their taps. The pipes to bring water from the Bembla dam 28km away have failed in all tests, with implementation agency Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) and the contractor having nothing to show for the Rs302 crore spent on the project so far.
The deliberate neglect or ineptitude of MJP engineers has put paid to promises of regular water supply by local MLA MLA Madan Yerawar, guardian ministers and district collector over last 5 years.
The agreement was signed between Nashik’s PL Aadke Construction Company and MJP in 2017-18. The scheme promised each Yavatmal resident 60 litres of drinking water per day by October 2019. MJP ordered Jai Balaji Industries Limited of Kolkata to provide 13.5mm pipes for the over 28km distance from Bembla dam site to Yavatmal for Rs150 crore.
The contractor laid 18km pipeline till Takli filter plant without any hydraulic testing, though this is required at every 500 metres. When hydraulic testing started, the pipe burst at many locations. Local farmers bore the brunt as the heavy flow of water from the burst pipeline flooded farms and damaged crops.
After strong protests, MJP ordered pipe testing by Nagpur’s Vishvesharaya National Institute of Technology (VNIT). The report speaks volumes of the corruption and red tapism in pipe purchases and supply. The test report observations are: wall thickness of all samples not uniform, varying from 8mm to 13mm, extremely protected by bituminous coating, internal lining of cement mortar found in samples, and pipes centrifugal cast and not heat treated to achieve necessary mechanical properties and to relieve casting stresses.
Meanwhile, the entire city roads were dug up to lay distribution network along with underground drainage system. Consequently, roads were totally damaged, with no water in the pipeline to show for it.
In all this, the politicians have not raised a single voice against the irregularities, or taken any initiative to recover the money spent on this project.
RTI activist Digambar Pajgade spearheaded an agitation to punish the guilty, but his effort for a thorough enquiry to expose corruption went unheeded. A criminal PIL filed by him in 2019 before the Nagpur bench of Mumbai high court is still pending. The next hearing in this case is on November 30, 2022.
Amid all this, the city continues to get drinking water once in 12-15 days currently, which was once in 25-30 days in the summer, even though all dams in the district are overflowing.