Guwahati, Aug. 29: The Assam government has shelved the much-hyped storm water drainage scheme, one that was supposed to rid the capital city of floods and waterlogging, after claiming to have detected inherent flaws in the project well past the halfway stage of its implementation.
The wastage of time, effort and money is colossal — as much as 88 per cent of the work has already been completed at an expenditure of Rs 39.33 crore.
Dispur has constituted a one-man inquiry commission, with former Gauhati University vice-chancellor N.K. Choudhary in the chair, to find out whether the Rs 52.48-crore scheme was drafted on the basis of a proper scientific study of field conditions and suggest remedial steps.
The project was initiated in 2000 by the erstwhile Asom Gana Parishad-led ruling alliance. It was based on a report compiled in 1971 by the Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Organisation.
Sources said chief minister Tarun Gogoi ordered abandonment of the project during a recent meeting with officials of the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), the nodal agency for the project.
In accordance with the directive from Gogoi, who is also the chairman of the GMDA, the development authority has decided to foreclose the scheme after rounding off work already undertaken and clearing the associated liabilities.
GMDA officials said during the meeting that the expected benefits from the scheme had not accrued because of major flaws in conceptualising, planning and executing the scheme, launched with a loan from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco).
Experts say the drains ostensibly do not have proper “silt pits” to retain garbage and allow free flow of water, while their faulty design makes cleaning virtually impossible.
Realising that the scheme will not be able to rid the city of floods, the government is contemplating engaging a professional consultant to study the drainage problem.
Documents in possession of The Telegraph reveal that the state government’s failure to make budgetary provisions for repayment of the Hudco loan has invited a penalty threat. To avoid paying further penalties, the GMDA has sought permission to continue paying interest from the loaned amount till such time it receives funds from the government.
The development authority paid Rs 140 lakh to Hudco as interest up to June from the loaned amount. The procedure was the same during the last fiscal too, with the government releasing only Rs 309.31 lakh for interest repayment, as against dues amounting to Rs 762.55 lakh.
The Guwahati Municipal Corporation and the public works, town and country planning, irrigation and flood control departments are some of the other agencies executing the project, conceptualised by the Guwahati development department. The areas affected the most by waterlogging are RG Baruah Road, Chandmari, Silpukhuri, Maligaon, Jyotinagar, Udalbakra, Bamunimaidam, Santipur, Lakhtokia, AT Road, Rajgarh, Pub-Sarania, Ambari, Tarun Nagar, Panjabari and Nabin Nagar.
Storm-drainage facilities have been constructed at Fancy Bazar, Beltola-Hatigaon, Dispur-Hatigaon, Nabinnagar-Anil Nagar, Bishnupur, Kamarpara-Machkhowa and Maniram Dewan Path. Five concrete bridges over the Bharalu have been completed, too. The facilities to which finishing touches are being given include three bridges over the Morabharalu and another over the Bharalu.
