Political parties oppose Salem Corporation awarding tender for drinking water supply to private company

Political parties, including the AIADMK and the CPI (M), person opposed the tender awarded by the Salem Corporation to a backstage institution to proviso drinking h2o 24x7 and person demanded that the bid beryllium revoked.

Salem Corporation envisages supplying 135 litres of drinking h2o a time to each idiosyncratic nonmigratory of the city. To cater to the needs of 10.83 lakh people, 147 cardinal litres per time (MLD) are needed. At present, Salem Corporation receives 10 MLD done the Mettur-Nangavalli combined drinking h2o strategy and 137 MLD done the Salem-Mettur dedicated h2o proviso scheme. However, with aged drinking water pipelines and overhead h2o tanks, the residents person drinking h2o erstwhile successful 4 to 10 days. The Corporation awarded a tender precocious worthy ₹4,315 crore to a backstage institution for 25 years to instrumentality the 24x7 scheme.

Opposition person (AIADMK) successful the Corporation assembly N. Yadhavamoorthy said the AIADMK was opposing privatisation of drinking h2o successful Salem from the beginning. The backstage institution whitethorn adjacent the nationalist taps done which radical person drinking h2o freely. The mediocre whitethorn person to wage for adjacent 1 litre of water. A monolithic protestation volition beryllium organised by the AIADMK against Salem Corporation soon, helium said.

CPI(M) Salem municipality caput N. Praveen Kumar said that the backstage institution volition instal meters and complaint people. There is simply a bully h2o proviso structure, including pumping stations and tanks, successful Salem. But a backstage institution volition laic pipelines to houses and person immense nett by collecting charges for h2o use. In the future, it volition alteration this to a prepaid strategy and lone if radical recharge, they volition person water. The institution volition recruit people for a meagre wage and it volition besides impact the employment accidental for radical successful Salem Corporation. The CPI (M) volition not let this privatisation and volition proceed its protest, helium added.

Salem Corporation officials said the tender provided to the backstage institution for 25 years included a survey and operation play of 5 years and cognition and attraction for 20 years. It is the Corporation that volition hole the h2o charges and not the backstage company. The backstage institution volition conception 19 overhead tanks, laic feeder main for 29.58 km, and volition supply 2.10 lakh caller h2o connections, the officials added.