As govt is not keen to fund, Sathya Sai Drinking Water Project in dock

Anantapur-Sathya Sai: The state government has withdrawn from funding the maintenance of Sathya Sai Drinking Water Project and landed the people, who are heavily dependent on the project for their drinking water needs, in the dock.

The government has conveyed to district administration to involve panchayats and municipalities for funding the maintenance of project. The bomb shell has landed the people at large in jittery and all stakeholders.

Sri Sathya Sai Rural Drinking Water Project, which is catering to the drinking water needs of 11 lakh homes in 600 villages in the undivided district, was conceived in 1998 at a cost of Rs 380 crore.

The entire cost of laying pipelines and building water storage reservoirs was funded by the Sathya Sai Trust. The management of the project was given to the L&T firm by the government. It costed Rs 2 crore every month for the L&T. In course of time, the company withdrew from the job as the government failed to deposit the maintenance cost to the firm. There are nearly 600 workers depending on the project. Soon after the company withdrew in 2021, the project board took over the maintenance of the project. Even after the board took over, the government was irregular in payments. As on today there are Rs 60 crore dues pending to small work contractors. For last 2 years, the district administration had been writing to the government to clear the dues and help in hassle-free maintenance of the project.

But the government threw a bomb shell that it will no longer fund the maintenance of the project and the panchayats and municipalities together should take up the responsibility of funding it.

Already the coffers of all panchayats are empty and even the 10th Finance committee funds meant for panchayats are diverted by the government to fund its pet schemes. The government by tying the hands of panchayats from the back have immobilised the local bodies. Now, the entire project which caters to drinking water needs of 11 lakh homes is in the dock. If the government withdraws mercilessly, it is the people who suffer. There is again a demand by the people to hand over maintenance of project to the Sathya Sai Trust.