SHILLONG: General secretary of the UDP and former MLA of Nongthymmai constituency, Jemino Mawthoh met the PHE Minister, Samlin Malngiang on Tuesday to seek a report on the status and progress of Nongrah water supply scheme.
Speaking to reporters, Mawthoh said that he was informed by the Minister that the work had been crippled as location for setting up of the treatment plant was not identified. He, however, expressed optimism that an area of about 8000 sq. feet had been identified and the traditional heads from Nongrah were prepared to hand over the documents to the PHE Department.
The Nongrah Water Supply Scheme Nongrah comprises of Lummarboh, Nongmarboh, Nongpdeng, Dongktieh and Nonglum falling under Nongthymmai Constituency.
“We expect the Phase I to be completed in 2021”, he said. He added that Mawphlang dam cannot be burdened with supplying water to entire Shillong but other sources of water have also to be tapped.
Mawthoh pointed out that Nongrah areas falling under Nongthymmai constituency had been experiencing acute water scarcity for decades altogether.
He informed that the areas of Nongrah and Lapalang have been excluded from the GSWSS (Phase IIl) and was informed that it would probably be included in Phase IV which he said will not be completed in their lifetime.
The two water augmentation schemes taken up by the PHE Department, Hills Division in the past were not able to cater to the need of growing population.
He said that there was an urgent need to enhance the tapping capacity of the overflowing water at source.
He informed that in 2013, he tried to include the Nongrah locality under National Rural Drinking Water Mission, a scheme amounting to Rs.27 Crores was mooted but due to standard criteria relating to open defecation not fulfilled, the scheme had to be abandoned.
Mawthoh informed that the Nongrah Water Supply Scheme (Phase-1) amounting to Rs.5,92,73,000 /-to cover a population of more than 12,000 was approved by PHE on March 2017 which was vandalised by miscreants damaging the chamber of a borewell, which is part of the first phase of Nongrah Water Supply Scheme, prompting the PHE to lodge an FIR with police.