Line gap delays Ganga water to Jaypee

As per an Allahabad High Court order, the authority was expected to ensure Ganga supply to the societies within two weeks, officials said.

The Noida authority officials in an inspection found out that a pipeline laid nearly 20 years ago is missing in several stretches, which will lead to delay in supplying Ganga water to Jaypee Wishtown housing projects.

The Noida authority is facing hurdles in delivering the Ganga water to dozens of housing societies in Jaypee Wishtown project. (Sunil Ghosh/HT PHOTO)

As per an Allahabad High Court order, the authority was expected to ensure Ganga supply to the societies within two weeks after the Suraksha Group — which is managing Jaypee Infratech Limited (JIL) under the insolvency process — deposits ₹60 crore. The money was submitted last week, officials said.

However, the authority is now planning fresh pipeline work for the water supply project and starting the supply by October 10, officials said.

“We fought a case in Allahabad High Court, made our builder deposit ₹60 crore as bank guarantee with hope that we finally get Ganga water for drinking purposes. But now, we are told it will get delayed because the pipeline is missing and the authority is struggling to link the missing stretches. We saw that a realtor has built a thick concrete surface, making it hard for the authority to find an old pipeline laid seven feet down,” SK Maheshwari, a resident of Sector 128, Wishtown, said.

For over a decade, residents of Jaypee Wishtown in Noida have relied on poor-quality groundwater, leading to the Allahabad HC order on September 11.

In Sector 133, a concrete road built over the alignment by a commercial complex will also have to be broken to access the pipeline. “I don’t think Noida authority will easily break through the concrete surface to locate old pipelines and deliver the Ganga water before Dussehra,” Pavan Tyagi, a resident of Jaypee Wishtown Sector 134, said.

When contacted, authority general manager (GM) RP Singh said, “We have conducted a joint survey with Suraksha and identified the pipeline issues. Rectification work is underway. We will deliver Ganga water within stipulated time in most of the areas.”