The district is to get a mega Rs 950-crore drinking water project. At a meeting convened to discuss the outbreak of diseases and the drinking water problem in the district here on Monday, the water resources minister, Mr P.J. Joseph, said that the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)-funded project would be implemented for West Kochi while other areas would get water from the Rs 750-crore Japan drinking water project.
“At present the district gets 240 mld water. Through the new projects an additional 290 MLD will be made available,” said the minister.
An emergency fund of Rs 10 lakh is to be provided on Tuesday for repair of leaking pipes and rectifying the pipeline network. A Rs 13-crore project has been prepared to replace all the old water pumps and motors in the district.
A decision in this regard was taken at the meeting where legislators from the district sought immediate intervention of the KWA authorities to replace the old pipes.
The MLAs alleged that contractors were reluctant to undertake works as huge amounts were due to them.
Meanwhile, the minister said that Rs 36 crore had been allocated for various districts to pay off the maintenance dues to contractors.
He instructed officials to take immediate measures to fix leaky pipes before the onset of monsoon.