Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The ambitious water supply scheme for the city is nearing completion. The scheme is planned to consider the water needs of the city's expected population increase over the next 25 to 30 years. The first stage of the scheme, for 26 MLD of water, has been accomplished. The city will get a continuous 24/7 water supply in the coming days, assured Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The "Jal Pujan" (water worship) of the 26 MLD capacity water purification center was performed by Fadnavis on Saturday. The state's social justice and district guardian minister, Sanjay Shirsat; OBC welfare minister, Atul Save; MLC Ambadas Danve; MP Sandipan Bhumre; MP Dr. Kalyan Kale; MP Dr. Bhagwat Karad; MLA Narayan Kuche; MLA Pradeep Jaiswal; MLA Anuradha Chavan; MLC Sanjay Kenekar; MLC Satish Chavan; former mayor Nandkumar Ghodele; Kishor Shitole; Rajendra Janjal; divisional commissioner Jitendra Papalkar; municipal commissioner G. Sreekanth; district collector Dilip Swami; Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran chief engineer Manisha Palande; and others were present.
Fadnavis further said that the ambitious scheme, which started in 2019, was initially sanctioned for Rs 1,800 crores. The government had decided to pay the municipal corporation's share for the scheme to facilitate it. Under the Atal Amrut Scheme, the project was included and received huge funds from the central government. The scheme was instrumental in rejuvenating the old 56 MLD water supply scheme for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Now, the project has been facilitated with a total expense of Rs 2,700 crores. The progress of the scheme has reached 82 percent from 2023 to 2025. The problems encountered while implementing the scheme were resolved through the "war room" project, Fadnavis said.
The remaining works of the scheme will be completed soon, and the city will get a water supply that considers the increasing population of the city over the next 25 to 30 years. The required funds for the scheme will be released next month, and the provision for the remaining funds will be done soon. The scheme is likely to be completed by the end of December, he said.
Chief Engineer Manisha Palande made an introductory speech. She said that two water supply schemes of 100 MLD and 56 MLD are currently being implemented for the city. Through these schemes, the city is getting 145 MLD of water daily. Now, with the 26 MLD water purification center having started, the daily water influx will reach 171 MLD.
