SHILLONG: Nongthymmai legislator Jemino Mawthoh (UDP) on Thursday said that the PHE officials have committed to completing the Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme (GSWSS) Phase III within the first quarter of 2015.
Mawthoh, however, observed that the PHED has to take up the project on a war footing if they want to complete the project within the scheduled deadline since laying of distribution pipes in major part of the cities was still incomplete.
“As per the official, so far only 30 per cent of the work for laying of distribution pipes has been completed,” Mawthoh said after attending a meeting of 16 Dorbar Shnong under Nongthymmai constituency with PHED officials at H Elias School, Pohkseh, here.
The legislator also revealed that laying of distribution pipes in certain localities of Shillong has been pending since the concerned Dorbar Shnong were not giving necessary permission for the same.
“The problem has cropped up due to the communication gap between the department and the local Dorbar Shnong. The department needs to have a dialogue with the Dorbar Shnong to convince them to give the permission,” he stated. Mawthoh also spoke on the need for the PHED to appoint a monitoring team to ensure that the work for laying of distribution pipes is completed within the stipulated time frame.
The legislator, quoting PHED officials, said that metering system would be introduced under the GSWSS Phase-III, and a charge of Rs.8 per 1000 litre of water would be levied. The department is expected to supply 135 litres of water per person per day under Phase-III, he further stated.
Meanwhile, Mawthoh informed that they raised the issue of irregular supply of water in various localities under Nongthymmai constituency and also questioned the PHED officials on the quality of water being supplied to the households.
“The PHE officials admitted to flaws in the distribution system. But at the same time they also assured to take steps to improve the system,” the legislator added.