PATHANAMTHITTA: The implementation of the Rs 29-crore sewage treatment plants at Sannidhanam and Pampa, planned with the objective of ensuring a clean and healthy environment for the crores of Sabarimala pilgrims and lakhs of people living on the banks of Pampa river downstream, is facing uncertainty due to the vested interest and negative attitude of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA).The unprecedented delay on the part of the KWA in awarding the contract for the sewage treatment plants, which include the five million litre per day (MLD) capacity new plant at Sannidhanam and the expansion of the existing Pampa plant from 3.5 million litres per day to 5 MLD, will affect the clearance for the second and final phases of the Rs 380-crore Pampa Action Plan by the Central Government.The much-needed project, one of the important schemes in the first phase of the Pampa Action Plan, failed to take off even after five years of its finalisation by the KWA, the implementing agency.Though the State Government had given administrative sanction for the Rs 29-crore project, including one-third of the project cost by the Travancore Devaswom Board, the KWA failed to award the contract. The intriguing part is that the KWA allegedly excluded a genuine bidder, who has ample experience in the execution of similar projects, reliable sources said.The technocrat-turned contractor, who successfully implemented the 3.5-MLD plant at Pampa, was dropped in the final round of bidding, sources said.Swami Ayyappan Road reonovation work yet to begin: The work on the Rs 6-crore renovation-cum-reconstruction of Pampa-Marakoottam Swami Ayyappan Road is yet to begin. Though the Kerala High Court and the Travancore Devaswom Board cleared the project on sponsorship basis around two months ago, no follow-up action was taken in this regard.Though the Subramaniam Trust, which laid the road from the revenue of “Swami Ayyappan” film, failed to undertake the road work for want of another sponsor, sources said.The delay in launching the road work would affect the time-schedule of the completion of the project before the beginning of the next pilgrimage season in November, sources said.
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