The mega drinking water project in Adityapur has yet another hurdle to clear - forest clearance as the construction of the master balancing reservoir and one of the water treatment plants fall under the forest area of Krishna Nagar in the NIT area and Sapra village. The drinking water project worth Rs 395 crore which began in the Adityapur municipal corporation (AMC) in May 2018 is yet to get the forest department clearance.

The residents of the densely-populated Adityapur area were anxiously looking forward to getting tap water this summer but will have to bear with the perennial drinking water crisis this year as well.

The project which is being carried out by the Urban Development Department was to provide tapped water to over 50,000 households in the AMC area.

For the project, the executing agency, Jharkhand Urban Development and Infrastructure Corporation (JUDICO) has planned to set up 11 water towers, two water treatment plants and a mass balancing reservoir (MBR) besides laying a 500 km pipeline in the project area. Construction work of the water towers are in progress but work for the MBR and one of the water treatment plants is yet to begin due to a lack of forest department clearance.

Ajay Kumar, city manager of AMC, who looks after the drinking water project on behalf of the JUDICO said as the sites for the MBR and one of the water treatment plants fall under the forest area of Krishna Nagar in NIT area and Sapra village, they had submitted a petition for the forest department clearance six months ago, but are yet to get the go-ahead.

“In absence of the forest department clearance, the executing agency is not being able to begin the construction work. The forest department clearance is affecting the ambitious drinking water project effectively,” said Kumar while talking to The Telegraph Online.

It may be mentioned here that of the 50,000 households, only 7,000 households get tapped water from the Drinking Water & Sanitation Department. The rest of the residents have to manage from the borewell. But as the water table of the area has depleted considerably, most of the borewells have gone defunct, leading the affected residents to arrange drinking water from the adjoining steel city.

Significantly, several residents are seen carrying drinking water in bottles back home from the Bistupur locality of the steel city.

Divisional forest officer, Seraikela, Aditya Narayan said, “We are yet to receive any petition from the JUDICO or AMC concerning the forest clearance. We will be able to process the petition for the forest clearance only after we receive it.”