Ranchi, Oct. 16: The state government has received Rs 16 crore from the Centre to kick-start a water supply scheme in Chaibasa, a town with a population of 64,000 people who are dependent on a piped water supply system dating back to the 1960s.
The first instalment of funds was sent to the state government last week to commission the Rs 32.87-crore project under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small and Medium Towns.
The scheme falls under the Union urban development department.
“We are preparing to invite tender for the project. The technical sanction and administrative approval for the project was given some time back. We need to change schedules of rate of various components of the project which will be updated,” engineer in chief of the drinking water and sanitation department Shardendu Narayan told The Telegraph.
The drinking water and sanitation department will execute the project, which will cover the Chaibasa municipal council area.
Executive magistrate in the council Anuj Kumar said that revamp of water supply was much needed for Chaibasa, which is growing of late due to various development activities.
Narayan added they would be installing a new water treatment plant and elevated service reservoir as part of the scheme.
Shankar Lal, a resident of Bara Nimdih locality of Chaibasa — the district headquarters of West Singhbhum and divisional commissionary headquarters of Singhbhum-Kolhan — said that at present, the water supply scheme serves only half the population and the water pressure levels remained low.
The town has been witnessing development in recent years on various fronts with the establishment up of an education hub (Kolhan University in 2009) and the start of new iron ore mining projects in West Singhbhum.
The sum of Rs 16 crore released by the Centre has already reached the Greater Ranchi Development Agency (GRDA) Limited, which serves as the state-level nodal agency for execution of JNNURM and other central urban infrastructure development projects in major cities.
The funds will be sent to the Chaibasa municipal council soon.
A Calcutta-based engineering consultant has prepared a detailed project report for the scheme almost a year ago.
