After spending ₹20cr, Auda halts work on water treatment plant - The Times of India

Ahmedabad: Work has ground to a halt at a water treatment plant site in Jaspur, and Rs 20 crore of public money has gone down the drain. The reason: Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority (Auda) has now decided that an international-standard sports complex will come up at the spot. Some are calling Auda's decision abrupt as work on the Rs 150 crore treatment plant had already commenced. Located adjacent to Shantigram township in Jaspur, the plant was to be linked to a pipeline network to supply potable water to villages along SP Ring Road and SG Highway. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'Auda had approved the project only last year. Work order had been issued and construction had begun. After spending more than Rs 20 crore, Auda abruptly cancelled it. There are now plans to build a international-standard sports complex on a public-private partnership (PPP) model,' an official said, requesting anonymity.Auda will now basically restart the project from scratch, which will drive up the overall cost, a source in the urban body said, calling it a total lack of planning by top Auda officials and the engineering department.'The tendering process for the initial project took six months. Now, the work has been halted all of a sudden. A relocation has been planned which means that the funds spent so far have gone to waste. Re-tendering for the new plot is expected to result in higher costs compared to the original tender,' the official added.A formal proposal to develop the sports complex will now be forwarded to state govt. Meanwhile, Auda plans to build the plant near the AMC-run treatment plant, also located in the Jaspur area but farther from the current site.Auda's proposal before the board states: 'Approval has been granted to suspend the ongoing construction of the water treatment plant and build it on a proposed new plot — 78,000 sq m across Final Plot Nos. 38 and 513 under TP Scheme No. 229 (Jaspur-Khodiyar) have been sanctioned for the new plant. The Auda chairman has been authorised to send a proposal to the state govt for decisions on offsetting the costs incurred due to the relocation and developing an international-standard sports complex on a PPP basis at the site.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The plant in Jaspur was to supply drinking water to Auda-governed zones surrounding SP Ring Road and SG Highway. The supply will now be delayed considerably, sources said, adding that initiating and completing the relocated water treatment plant will take three to four years.When asked about the matter, Auda executive engineer (east zone) Ankit Jadavala said, 'Currently, I do not have any detail regarding this.'BOX Tired of too many ads? go ad free now DRINKING WATER PLANS CHOKEDAuda is implementing the Rs 240 crore Jal Jeevan Mission pipeline project to bring drinking water to villages along SP Ring RoadPipelines to supply water to 55 villages in the west were to be linked to the now-scrapped Jaspur plant Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Starting work on the plant at a new location will push up costs and delay water delivery Auda's water treatment plant at Telav, Sanand, built for Rs 20 crore, has been non-operational for over a decade Videos Up Next