SHILLONG, Jan 7: The Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme (GSWSS Phase-III), conceived 13 years ago, is yet to see the light of day even though the demographic trend in Shillong, over the years, has seen an upward trend — which now brings us to the question if the project can still cater to the ever-growing population of the city.
PHE Minister Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar, however, is hopeful of the project being sufficient for Greater Shillong area.
“I hope that the project should be sufficient for Greater Shillong area and if not, we will have to find another source as many sources are drying up and water level is also reducing,” the PHE minister said.
He also informed that his department will have to conduct a study to discern if the scheme can cater to the current population.
It may be mentioned that the project was approved by the Centre in October 2008 at a cost of Rs 193.5 crore and a target for its completion was fixed for May 2011. The objective of the project is to create infrastructure for the supply of an additional 24-million litres of water to the projected population of Shillong Urban Agglomeration.
Informing that the project, during its planning stage, was conceptualised for at least 15 years, the PHE minister assured of trying his best to complete the much-delayed phase III of the scheme by December this year as the department has already received necessary clearances from the Defence Ministry.
“I don’t see any reason which would delay the project,” he said, adding that the contractors earlier wanted additional funds to carry on with the work and only recently, an amount of Rs 65 crore was sanctioned for the project.
Informing that the work for laying of pipes is going on in many places, Tongkhar added that major works on the project will be completed within this working season.
It may be mentioned that the GSWSS Phase-III is expected to mitigate the water woes being faced by the residents of Shillong.