Rs. 272 crore water project gets rolling.

The long-awaited rural drinking water project of the East Singhbhum district to be funded by the World Bank is likely to see the light of the day.

After a series of initial hiccups, bids for the Rs. 272-crore drinking water project, were invited by the Jamshedpur circle of the drinking water and sanitation department on Saturday. Two companies from south India have filed tenders for the Baghbera and Govindpur drinking water project, which are supposed to be completed within 30 months from the date of commencement of the ground work at an estimated cost of Rs. 134 crore and Rs. 138 crore, respectively.

'The company with the lowest bid and the requisite technical criteria will be selected provided it gives in writing that it will complete the project in the stipulated time period of two and a half years,' said a senior official of the drinking water and sanitation department. The contract will be awarded by mid July, he added.

Over four lakh people in 145 villages spread across 44 panchayats in the outskirts of the Steel City will benefit from the project. 'So far, we have organized 198 dharnas, sit-ins and street marches, including the march to Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha from Jamshedpur in August 2012, to build pressure on the state government for working out the modalities for the early commencement of the project,' said Subodh Jha, who spearheaded the agitation.

Both the Baghbera and Govindpur drinking water project were conceived by the state government in 2006. But the progress has been tardy.


TOI