COIMBATORE: The City Corporation officials are struggling hard to complete the pending Under Ground Drainage (UGD) pipeline laying works in the eastern and western parts of the city, with roughly over 50 kilometres yet to be covered.
Sources said the civic body had as on date laid sewer lines up to 527 kilometres against the designated 582 kms in the old corporation limits.
The civic body had been carrying out sewer laying works in three segments, at an expenditure of Rs 377 crore under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM).
Of the three packages, segment-I and II are completed, and work under segment-III is progressing at the eastern and northern parts of the city for the past one-and-half years. However, the civic body is yet to cover four kilometres of the drain in ward number 47.
Officials hoped that they would complete the remaining 55 kilometre pipe-laying works in the third segment in the next six months. The civic body still has to complete pipeline laying works in nine wards (ward numbers 55 and 64).
"We have to get approval from Railways and national highways department to carry out the works in certain parts of the eastern parts in the city limits, and it will take six more month to complete the entire works. Similarly, few portion on the Tiruchy road is under litigation. We hope that we will clear the litigation soon," said a corporation official.
The civic body has allotted Rs 113.33 crore to carry out the third segment of work to a Hyderabad-based company, since mid-2013. However, the contractor demanded an additional `14.9 crore from the civic body to carry out the project. Hence, the civic body will incur 30 per cent additional cost which will be sourced from the corporation's general funds.
The public, especially motorists, are facing lot of difficulties due to the delay in UGD project in the old corporation limits for over six years.