Solution in sight for Agra's water woes

The water problems of Agra may be solved by the end of this year, with the Japan Bank of International Cooperation giving its approval in theory for 50 per cent funding of the Rs 600-crore conduit water pipeline project for the city. Set to begin by the end of this year, the project is expected to be completed by 2010

In a meeting of the JBIC, central and state government officials held in Agra recently, the project was discussed in detail and approved by the JBIC representatives for the release of funding.

Talking to Business Standard, Agra Divisional Commissioner Ashok Kumar said out of the estimated Rs 600 crore cost for laying out a couple of pipelines from Palra in Bulandshahar (about 130 km away) to Agra, and the strengthening of the water distribution system in the town, the JBIC would be paying 50 per cent amount at a rate of 1.5 per cent per annum while the remaining 50 per cent would be financed by the Centre under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission.

He said besides laying the pipeline to Agra, the proposal to further extend this pipeline by 12 km to the Gokul barrage and mix it with the Yamuna water for supply to the nearby towns of Mathura and Vrindavan had also been approved by JBIC and hopefully, by the end of this year, the "Agra Water Supply (Gangajal) Project" would be formally launched.

Against the projected completion date in 2012, it was expected that Agra, Mathura and Vrindavan shall begin receiving 140 cusecs of clean Ganga water from the Tehri Dam by 2010, which would benefit approximately 1.63 million people in Agra and about 0.45 million people in the towns of Mathura and Vrindavan.

All necessary clearances had already been granted to the project by the state government and only land acquisition for laying out the pipeline remained and this would begin as soon as the funding was released by the JBIC and the Centre, he said.

According to Kumar, the USP of the project that had impressed the JBIC representatives was that it was completely eco-friendly with virtually no recurring costs in maintaining the water pumping infrastructure as the route for the entire pipeline had been charted in such a manner that it would be completely gravity-driven, obliterating the need to install mid-way pumping stations and bringing down the cost of operating this pipeline.

He said while this water project had been primarily devised as a solution to the water scarcity in Agra, once it was finally flagged off, the state government could study the possibilities of extending this pipeline to other areas facing similar water problems.