04-05-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
CCMC aims to wrap up work on 24x7 water supply project by August 2
COIMBATORE: After years of delays, missed deadlines, and mounting public frustration, the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation (CCMC) is making a final push to complete the long-overdue 24x7 drinking water supply project by August 2 this year.
The project, being implemented across 60 wards by private contractor Suez India Projects Pvt. Ltd., has been fraught with challenges since its inception in 2019.
The Rs 646.71-crore initiative, launched through an agreement signed in 2018 between CCMC and Suez, was initially expected to be completed by August 2023. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, labour shortages, coordination lapses, and allegations of substandard work pushed the project off track, forcing the civic body to extend the deadline to August 2025. Now, with mounting pressure from the CCMC councillors in view of the assembly election in Tamil Nadu next year, the CCMC is determined to wrap up the project within the next three months.
Despite the urgency, progress has been slow. Only around 82% of the work has been completed so far, with several wards still lagging behind. Councillors across zones have expressed disappointment over the poor execution and delays, particularly the inability to resume roadwork due to incomplete House Service Connections (HSCs).
"As far as the Central Zone is concerned, the work is fully completed only in wards 31, 32, 46, and 47. In many other areas, Suez has left out 20 to 50 houses without HSCs, which is delaying road restoration. Without connecting all houses, we can't move ahead with road-laying," Central Zone Chairperson Meena Logu told TNIE.
"Councillors are not happy with the quality of the work. The road surfaces are uneven, and the work is being done without proper supervision. All stakeholders - the public, councillors, CCMC, and Suez - should have coordinated better from the beginning."
