Chandigarh MC House meet: Centre to review pan-city 24x7 water supply project
Amid a heated debate and discussion over the project in the House meeting of the Chandigarh municipal corporation on Friday, mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla said the project will be sent to the ministry for review
Currently in limbo, the much-touted pan-Chandigarh 24x7 water supply project will now be reviewed by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs (MOHUA) and then again presented before the MC House in its next meeting for taking a final call.
Amid a heated debate and discussion over the project in the House meeting of the municipal corporation (MC) on Friday in which the opposition urged to scrap the project calling it a “white elephant”, mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla said the project will be sent to the ministry for review.
Initially approved in 2022 at a cost of ₹576 crore, the total cost of the French agency funded pan-city 24x7 water supply project now stands at ₹1,741.28 crore, showcasing a 200% rise in cost over the years.
As per the agenda put forward on Friday, it was stated that the experience from the Manimajra pilot project and subsequent technical and financial reviews have highlighted the need for a more realistic and data-driven approach to ensure sustainable implementation.
“I have sent the project to the ministry which can review the status of funds and its feasibility. Their report will be far more detailed and will help us decide better,” said mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla.
Congress councillor Gurpreet Singh Gabi said the water supply project is a white elephant and will only burden the civic body. “There are too many ifs and buts in the project. Rather than bringing this project, we can bring a new agenda to change the water pipelines of the city. We do not wish to go ahead with this project,” he said.
Deputy mayor Taruna Mehta said the project has failed terribly and it will go down in the history of Chandigarh MC as an embarrassment. She also questioned the feasibility of the project.
In the House meeting convened in September this year, the agenda to scrap the project was rejected.
Former BJP mayor Anoop Gupta said only a status report was presented to the House and the full proposal should be presented again.
Protest over BJP chief’s ‘anpadh’ remark
High drama was witnessed when the councillors of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi party (AAP) demanded an apology from the Chandigarh BJP chief JP Malhotra over him allegedly calling colony residents as ‘anpadh’ during a press conference on Thursday. The councillors raised slogans for over 20 minutes and came to the well of the house with placards condemning Malhotra. “He is not even here, whom do you want to apologise?” asked Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla as she denied that such a statement was made in that sense.
AAP not interested in devp: Babla
Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla reacted strongly to allegations that development work in wards of opposition was not being done. “I convened a meeting a week ago and the entire opposition, except one Congress councillor, boycotted it. Camera is on, I want to tell the public that Congress and the AAP is not interested in development of city,” she said.
₹264-cr contract repeatedly to one firm?
BJP councillor Saurabh Joshi highlighted that M/s Lion’s Services Agency, which was awarded the ₹264-crore sanitation contract for 2017–2021-22, has been receiving repeated extensions for several consecutive years without any competitive bidding. He said this practice has eroded transparency, weakened accountability and caused significant financial implications for the city.
30 agendas passed
Of the 30 agendas passed by the MC House on Friday, 13 were related to re-carpeting of roads.
Door-to-door garbage collection in 13 villages & commercial area of Manimajra
One-time settlement for recovery of outstanding property tax of charitable, govt and autonomous bodies
Extension of GIS based sweeping to southern sectors of the city
Installation of signages on V4 roads under MC’s B&R wing
Agenda for e-auctioning of 75 advertising sites and unipoles.
The pan-Chandigarh 24x7 water supply project, initially approved in 2022 for ₹576 crore, has faced a staggering cost escalation to ₹1,741.28 crore and is now under review by the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs. Mayor Harpreet Kaur Babla emphasized the need for a detailed feasibility report amid opposition calls to scrap the project, labeling it a “white elephant.”