Residents of Greater Noida and GreNo West will receive Ganga water supply from this year. According to officials of Greater Noida Development Authority, the Ganga Jal project for the city will be completed by October this year, and supply will be initiated thereafter.
But promises are often broken.
The project was to be completed in 2013, but is still continuing. Though the authority is promising water by year-end, according to sources, only one-fourth of the work is complete.
This supply — when it begins — will replace extraction and consumption of groundwater for residents of Greater Noida.
However, looking at previous records, the claims of the authority seem to be rather far-fetched.
Greater Noida Authority had launched the scheme to supply Ganga water in the city about 10 years back. Land was acquired for the project in 2007, while work started in 2010. At the time, the project budget was Rs 300 crore. The authority loaned credit from National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB).
The project was to be completed in 2013, but that never happened. In April 2016, the authority set a new target of March 2018, but fearing non-completion, they set a final date for October 26, 2018.
Rajiv Tyagi, general manager of the project, said, “The work of laying the pipeline from NTPC to Dehra is under way. The construction of the 11-km pipeline will be completed in June this year, 26 per cent of the work is complete. The water treatment plant is being built in Palla village. Water will be carried by pipelines from Palla to Greater Noida.”
The work of the project has been delayed owing to protests from villagers, he added.
Under the project, 85 cusecs of water will be supplied to Greater Noida. Two to three lakh households will be supplied Ganga jal in the first phase. Authority officials said that Ganga water will not be mixed with groundwater. In the second phase, the rest of the households will be covered.
The question — is the authority to be believed? Will the residents get respite from the muddy groundwater any time soon?
