SHILLONG, May 26: As New Shillong Township is expected to come up in a big way in some time, the state government is likely to get a central sanction of more than Rs 200 crore for the New Shillong Township Water Supply Scheme.
Informing this, PHE Minister Renikton Lyngdoh Tongkhar said that estimates for the New Shillong Township Water Supply Scheme has been made. “We are following it up and we will most likely get a sanction of Rs 215 crore,” the minister said.
The minister said work for the Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme phase III will be completed within this year.
“The work is going. There were some issues between PWD and PHE department but the issues have been resolved, and we understand it is the monsoon season but we have asked all the contractors to resume the work,” the minister said.
When asked if the old Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme phase III can cater to the growing population of the city, the minister said that the project has been calculated for 15 years.
“Those areas which are not covered under this scheme will be covered under the JJM and if JJM is not entitled, we will try to cover those areas with other schemes like Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT),” the minister added.
It is learnt that the physical progress of the scheme has reportedly crossed 70 per cent.
The project had run into obstacles but the contractors resumed their work after the government sanctioned a revised estimate of Rs 65 crore.
The GSWSS Phase III aims to solve the water woes faced by the residents of Shillong. The project was approved by the Union Government at a cost of Rs 193.50 crore in October 2008 with a completion deadline of May 2011.
The objective of this project was to create infrastructure to provide for the supply of additional 24 million litres of water to the projected population of Shillong Urban Agglomeration from 2011 to 2041.
