KOCHI: With the Kochi Corporation and the Piravom municipality authorities reaching a consensus over digging up of roads for laying pipes for the Maradu Water Treatment Plant project, the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) is hopeful of completing the project within a year. It was in a meeting convened by Water Resources Minister P J Jospeh in Kochi on Friday that the representatives from both the local bodies agreed to implement the project as per the original plan.The Rs 201-crore water treatment plant project was in a standstill as the Piravom municipality authorities hesitated to give sanction to dig up the bit uminised concrete road.In the meeting, the Minister asked the Kochi Corporation authorities to make sure that the restoration charges were fully paid."The digging up of roads should be done on per kilometre basis and it would be the responsibility of the Kochi Corporation to ensure that the road is restored properly after laying the pipes." "The pipe-laying work will start in August and will be completed within four months," P J Joseph said.He said that the speedy completion of the project is important to Kochi as the plant with a capacity to treat 100 million litres of water a day (mld) is expected to solve the potable water crisis of Kochi and the neighbouring municipalities, including Maradu.Regarding the alternative route proposed by the Piravom municipality, the Minister said that the feasible study conducted by the Kerala water Authority (KWA) shows that the recurring charges will be high if the Corporation opts for the new route. "So the project needs to be implemented as per the original plan," the Minister said.In his reply, Mayor Tony Chammany said that the Corporation had already paid Rs 1.5 crore as restoration charges. "The rest of the amount will be paid prior to the commencement of the work," the Mayor said.Public Works Minister V K Ibrahimkunju, MLAs from the district and the representatives of the local bodies were also present during the meeting.
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