Jaipur: With elections round the corner, engineers of the public health and engineering department (PHED) are working round the clock to ensure partial implementation of several water supply schemes that are far from completion.
Some PHED engineers said that there were instructions from the government to start such water supply schemes with immediate effect.
“In my career of 32 years I had never seen such a huge number of water supply schemes in Jaipur, which have been sanctioned in the past four years. More interestingly, I had not seen any government so desperate to initiate schemes in whatever way possible before the election,” said a senior PHED engineer who did not wish to be quoted.
Under the Bisalpur II projects, the department is working on several water schemes across the city. While a few of the schemes have been completed, there are others that, at the eleventh hour before implementation of the model code of conduct, the government has decided to divide in phases and inaugurate the first phase (the portion of scheme already completed).
“Even for such schemes, we have instructions to start implementing the second phase before Diwali on the basis of whatever progress had been made. Even there are schemes that are far from completion and no formal inauguration had been made, but the government had asked to start the supply process on the basis of work done so far,” said another PHED engineer.
PHED officials claimed such a situation took place because the Congress government is under pressure from its own polices over the last four years. To generate revenue, the government issued rampant land leases through the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) in the last four years, and now has to supply water for them.
“Colonies that received pattas in 2019, 2020 or in 2021 have the rights to get PHED water supply. In 2023 if PHED wants to supply water to new areas or households, it would supply Bisalpur water. So, there is immense pressure from residents of different constituencies like Jhotwara, Vidyadhar Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Bagru and Sanganer to provide water connections as soon as possible,” another engineer said.
The engineer added that if such a trend to supply water only to a few colonies included in a project continues, it may affect the distribution system of the city. “To maintain water pressure there is a minimum prescribed quantity to pump water. If the demand is less than this quantity, then an amount of water would remain unutilized till the next supply,” an engineer explained.
Some PHED engineers said that there were instructions from the government to start such water supply schemes with immediate effect.
“In my career of 32 years I had never seen such a huge number of water supply schemes in Jaipur, which have been sanctioned in the past four years. More interestingly, I had not seen any government so desperate to initiate schemes in whatever way possible before the election,” said a senior PHED engineer who did not wish to be quoted.
Under the Bisalpur II projects, the department is working on several water schemes across the city. While a few of the schemes have been completed, there are others that, at the eleventh hour before implementation of the model code of conduct, the government has decided to divide in phases and inaugurate the first phase (the portion of scheme already completed).
“Even for such schemes, we have instructions to start implementing the second phase before Diwali on the basis of whatever progress had been made. Even there are schemes that are far from completion and no formal inauguration had been made, but the government had asked to start the supply process on the basis of work done so far,” said another PHED engineer.
PHED officials claimed such a situation took place because the Congress government is under pressure from its own polices over the last four years. To generate revenue, the government issued rampant land leases through the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) in the last four years, and now has to supply water for them.
“Colonies that received pattas in 2019, 2020 or in 2021 have the rights to get PHED water supply. In 2023 if PHED wants to supply water to new areas or households, it would supply Bisalpur water. So, there is immense pressure from residents of different constituencies like Jhotwara, Vidyadhar Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Bagru and Sanganer to provide water connections as soon as possible,” another engineer said.
The engineer added that if such a trend to supply water only to a few colonies included in a project continues, it may affect the distribution system of the city. “To maintain water pressure there is a minimum prescribed quantity to pump water. If the demand is less than this quantity, then an amount of water would remain unutilized till the next supply,” an engineer explained.
