COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) council on Thursday passed a resolution proposing to take over maintenance of Siruvani Dam, treatment plant and water supply works from the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage (TWAD) Board. This was among the 48 resolutions passed by the council.
CCMC commissioner M Prathap said, “In order to get funds from the World Bank, the maintenance and water supply from Siruvani dam was handed over to TWAD Board for a period of 20 years in 1984. Although the contract ended in 2004, the TWAD board has not yet handed over the maintenance and other works to CCMC.”
By taking over the project. Prathap said the CCMC can treat and supply water to the city at a much lesser cost.
“The TWAD has been charging Rs11.5 for every litre of water supplied to corporation areas. As of May 2023, the TWAD board sent a bill of Rs 334.10 crore to CCMC, of which around Rs106.94 crore has been paid. By taking over maintenance work from the TWAD board, we can save around Rs 2 to 3 crore per month in water bills,” Prathap explained.
The resolution proposes taking over all assets linked to the Siruvani dam water supply and waiving off charges since CCMC had executed the project using its resources. Prathap said CCMC could enter into agreements with local bodies to which Siruvani water is supplied and charge them a fee.