Lack of funds hits drinking water projects

KOCHI: The Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme (ARWSP),  a Central Government scheme to provide drinking water to Scheduled Castes and and Scheduled Tribes colonies, has hit a roadblock in the district. According to the reports submitted by the district-level vigilance and monitoring committee for 2011, the up-to-date expenditure incurred was `13.28 crore, whereas the total fund allotted to the district from 1999 was `13.84 crore. Even after utilising almost the entire fund, a number of projects are lying incomplete.For instance, projects in Pazhamala, Chakkiothmala and Chakkalamugal to provide drinking water for Kunnathunadu grama panchayat has been scuttled. Grama panchayat president Sheila Noushad said the Pazhamala project was stopped all of a sudden. The other projects are awaiting revised estimate. “Only a tank has been constructed under the Pazhamala project. Nothing has been done to link the nearby pond with the tank. The person who had agreed to hand over the pond in his property has now backed out. Owing to this, the place is reeling under acute water shortage,” she said. The work on the tank was initiated in 2004. “People often get agitated over acute water shortage, which sometimes gets out of hand.” According to a highly placed official with the SC/ST Department, many such projects are rotting for want of proper guidelines and inadequate funds. “Unscientific approaches have been disastrous. The lack of technical expertise in preparing the estimate has also scuttled many projects,” he said.Another reason cited by sources in the Rural Development Department is that the engineers of the Local Self-Government Department who prepare the estimates are overburdened. “The other departments have technical expertise at their service which is completely lacking here,” they said. Tilakan, Assistant Development Commissioner (Personal Audit), said that they could not bring about any changes in the estimate as a rate is already fixed by the government. “We cannot alter the rate fixed by the government,” he said.