Sambhajinagar city water project faces another delay, sparks outrage

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The new water project for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city is not going to meet the extended deadline of March 31. The official admission has left residents fuming, raising serious questions over the ability of public representatives and different govt authorities in addressing their long-drawn water woes.

The Rs 2,740 crore new water project started around five years ago. The initial deadline was March 2024. The deadline was later extended to Dec 2024 and then again to March 2025 because of poor progress of the work on multiple fronts.

Prashant Beedkar, a resident of the Satara-Deolai area, said there is collusion between the lobby of private tanker suppliers and govt authorities. They want to ensure the water project does not see the light of day. "Nobody would believe the project is still incomplete after five years despite monitoring by the Bombay high court. Certain vested interests want the city to remain dependent on private tankers so that the multi-crore business continues to thrive," he said.

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court is hearing a public interest litigation related to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's water woes. Despite the court's rebukes to the project contractor and authorities multiple times, the water project is now experiencing a third revised deadline.

When contacted, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar divisional commissioner Dilip Gawade on Thursday said the works related to the construction of elevated storage reservoirs and jackwells at the Jayakwadi dam are lagging. "We are pushing the project implementing agency, Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP), and the private contractor to expedite the project. We are offering all possible help to remove hurdles in the project," he told TOI.

When contacted, MJP authorities failed to give any concrete assurance on when the project will be commissioned to full capacity. A senior MJP official, preferring anonymity, said the project may drag on for at least a year more considering different pending works.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar's district guardian minister Sanjay Shirsat could not be reached for his comments.