MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board is set to undertake a major Rs 30 crore overhaul of the motor pumps in the Melur Combined Water Supply Scheme (CWSS) in Madurai.
The project involves replacing more than 310 motor pumps of capacities ranging from 2 HP to 150 HP across the scheme. The proposal has been sent to higher authorities in Chennai for approval and is expected to be cleared within a few days.
The scheme covers around 1,430 rural habitations across eight unions. It also caters to municipalities including Melur, Thirumangalam and Avaniyapuram, besides six town panchayats, including Thirunagar, Vilangudi and Paravai in Madurai district. Singampunari Town Panchayat in Sivaganga district is also covered under the scheme.
Speaking to TNIE, a TWAD (Madurai) official said the Melur CWSS is a major drinking water project that sources water from the Cauvery River and supplies it to Melur, surrounding municipalities, town panchayats and hundreds of rural habitations in Madurai. The project was conceived in 2005-06, while pipeline installation was carried out between 2010 and 2012 at a total cost of Rs 784 crore.
According to the official, most of the pipelines remain in good condition and have a lifespan of around 30 years, ensuring the reliability of the network until around 2042. The scheme currently supplies 84 MLD of water to rural habitations.
However, inspections and patrolling of the pipeline network revealed that the efficiency of several motor pumps had declined over the years.
“An internal study on power consumption also indicated that the pumps were consuming more electricity than required. If the issue was not rectified, power charges could increase significantly within a year, placing an additional burden on the town panchayats and villages that are the primary consumers of the water,” the official said.
To improve water flow and reduce power consumption, TWAD has proposed replacing all the motor pumps under the scheme. The cost of individual pumps is estimated to range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 5 lakh, depending on their capacity.