Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs Kaushik Rai today visited the North Guwahati and South West Guwahati Water Supply Projects being implemented by the Guwahati Jal Board to take stock of the progress of the projects and review the challenges affecting their timely completion.
During his early morning visit to the North Guwahati Water Supply Project, the Minister held discussions with officials regarding the status of the project. Managing Director, Guwahati Jal Board, Rohan Kumar Jha informed the Minister that the project is nearing commissioning. Out of the five District Metered Areas (DMAs), flushing and trial runs of three DMAs have already been completed. The remaining two DMAs will be taken up for flushing and trial runs following the necessary clearance from IIT Guwahati regarding the slope protection and allied safety measures at the foothill of the distribution reservoir.
The Minister inspected various components of the project and directed the concerned officials to work in a coordinated and dedicated manner to ensure that the targeted completion schedule is achieved. The project is targeted for completion by December 2026.
The North Guwahati Water Supply Project has a 37 MLD water treatment capacity and is designed to cater to around 15,000 households. The project has a distribution network of approximately 122 km within five DMAs.
At the Intake and Water Treatment Plant contract package, the 37 MLD WTP and 10.9 ML distribution reservoir are ready for commissioning, subject to completion of compliance as recommended by IIT Guwahati in regards to the slope protection works for structural stability and completion of performance guarantee test of Water Treatment Plant.
The Minister subsequently visited the South West Guwahati Water Supply Project and attended a review meeting at the project site. The project has a total capacity of 107 MLD and is designed to cater to around 30,000 households.
During the meeting, the Managing Director, Guwahati Jal Board, apprised the Minister of the issues and bottlenecks affecting completion of the project. After detailed deliberations, Minister Rai emphasised the need for a coordinated approach among all concerned agencies to resolve the existing issues and ensure that the project becomes fully functional at the earliest.
To facilitate coordinated resolution of the issues, the Minister directed the concerned officials to convene a joint review meeting tomorrow, inviting all concerned MLAs of Guwahati and representatives of the relevant departments and agencies, including PWD, PWRD, NHAI, NHIDCL, Railways, Oil, GMDA, and the district administrations of Kamrup and Kamrup Metropolitan, among others. The meeting will deliberate on the existing bottlenecks and work out solutions with the support and cooperation of all stakeholders.
Once fully operational, the South West Guwahati Water Supply Project is expected to significantly benefit areas including Maligaon, Adabari, Jalukbari and adjoining localities.
Minister Rai reiterated that timely completion and full operationalisation of the water supply projects are essential for strengthening the urban water supply infrastructure of Guwahati and ensuring reliable and adequate drinking water supply to the people.
Managing Director, Guwahati Jal Board, Rohan Kumar Jha, officials of Guwahati Jal Board and representatives of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) were present during the Minister’s visit and review.
Minister Kaushik Rai reviews progress of water supply projects in Guwahati
