Shillong, May 7: Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister Marcuise N Marak today has said that the revised Rs 772.96 crore estimate for the New Shillong Township Water Supply Scheme (Phase 1) was unavoidable after a proposed landfill near the original dam site at Nonghali village forced major changes.
The state cabinet earlier this week approved the revised estimate, which has seen the project cost rise by 43.55 percent from Rs 538.44 crore.
“The originally proposed dam site has been shifted further upstream after it was learned that a landfill is also proposed in the vicinity of the originally proposed dam at Nonghali village,” Marak said. “This shift has resulted in an increase in the span of the dam from 70m to 165m and in the number of radial gates from one to three.”
The minister said the relocation had a cascading impact on other components, such as the relocation of the “jack well”, compensation to landowners, dedicated power supply and excavation of 1.5km of roads for laying of pipes and then the repair of the road.
Marak said the cumulative impact of these changes made the original budget unviable. “These changes have substantially increased civil, mechanical and electrical components including land compensation costs rendering the originally sanctioned estimate inadequate,” he stated.
He added that the revised estimate was essential to “ensure environmental safety by avoiding proximity to landfill sites, achieve structural and hydraulic safety of the dam and jackwell, maintain community cooperation through fair compensation, guarantee dedicated and reliable power supply for critical infrastructure for uninterrupted water supply and restore public assets affected during pipeline construction.”
The scheme aims to supply 135 LPCD (litres per capita per day) of potable water to the New Shillong Township, Mawkhanu Knowledge City and 32 adjoining villages, with coverage projected up to 2057.
