BHAWANIPATNA: Although six years have already passed, six mega drinking water projects in Kalahandi district continue to remain incomplete despite expenditure of crores of rupees, leaving local residents struggling to meet their water needs amid the ongoing summer season.
As per sources, the six projects under the RWSS wing of the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water (PR&DW) department were to be undertaken in Golamunda, Jaipatna, Junagarh, Kalampur, Koksara and Thuamul Rampur blocks.
The construction work had been entrusted to a Hyderabad-based firm, Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) in 2020-21. The then BJD government had approved a total budget of over Rs 828.74 crore for these six projects, of which approximately only around Rs 418.54 crore has been spent till date.
Official sources said the project in Bandhugaon under Golamunda block has shown the most progress and is currently partially functional with around Rs 168.94 crore spent from the total sanctioned funds of Rs 177.83 crore.
For Mukhiguda project in Jaipatna block, only Rs 75.05 crore has been spent so far from the total Rs 168.50 crore. Similarly, only around Rs 85.64 crore has been spent from total Rs 180.25 crore in the Chilakpur project of Junagarh block. In Karmeli project under Kalampur block, around Rs 23.41 crore has been used up from total Rs 53.23 crore. In Moter project of Koksara block, out of Rs 149.98 crore, Rs 41.74 crore has been spent while in Adri project of Thuamul Rampur block Rs 23.73 crore has been used so far from total around Rs 98.92 crore.
Sources said the Bandhugaon project in Golamunda block was scheduled for completion on June 30 last year. The projects in Koksara and Thuamul Rampur blocks were targeted for completion by November 2025 and those in Jaipatna, Junagarh and Kalampur blocks were to be completed by January 4 this year.
However, the inordinate delay in completion of the projects has left local residents concerned as water scarcity rises during summer in Kalahandi district.
Asked about the delay, superintendent engineer Rakesh Kumar Gadnaik attributed it to non-deployment of sufficient manpower, abnormally slow process of execution and unauthorised stoppage of work by the agency concerned. “The RWSS officials supervising the projects have been directed to take legal action against the agency,” he added.