1/03/2012 02:42:00 AM
RAWALPINDI: Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has sought an additional Rs200 million from federal government to complete Khanpur Dam Water Supply Project (KDWSP) by end of June 2012, fearing that the project cost will increase if it did not complete within current fiscal year.
The RCB senior official told FTNews on Monday that the government had allocated Rs150 million for 2011-12 which was not enough to complete the project aimed at providing potable water in cantonment area.
He said that the government released Rs30 million after every three months to the cantonment board for the project but it had submitted a request to Secretary Defence to give recommendation to the government to increase three-month installment from Rs30 million to Rs80 million.
He said that in the request, the RCB informed the Defence Secretary that the total cost of the project was Rs700 million and the government provided Rs150 million in previous fiscal 2010-11 and allocated Rs150 million for the fiscal 2011-12.
He said that if the government provided an additional Rs200 million to the RCB during this fiscal year, it would complete the project.
However, he said that the project cost would increase in next fiscal 2012-13 if the work to lay water supply lines and construction of underground and overhead water tanks was not completed.
He said that the contract was given on old rates of construction material like cement, iron bars, sand and daily wages of the workers. He said that the prices of construction material had increased manifolds and the contractor would demand latest market rates if the construction work went beyond this fiscal.
When contacted, RCB Cantonment Executive Officer Rana Manzoor Ahmed Khan said that KDWSP was an important project for the cantonment areas as it would increase the water supply and storage capacity to meet the water requirement for next 20 years.
Work on the project was moving at a slow pace due to shortage of funds, he said adding the project was being funded by federal government.
The executive officer said he the defence secretary would have presentation on the project next week.
He said that under the project, the RCB had to lay 22-km-long water supply trunk line. He said that the RCB had laid eight-km-long trunk line along Peshawar Road and completed two underground water tanks at Aliabad and 502 Workshop at Adiala Road and the remaining work would complete next summer.
He said that at present, the RCB was getting 9 million gallon water daily (MGD) from Khanpur Dam and 6 MGD from tubewells. He said that there was shortfall of 5 MGD daily as the daily water requirement of Cantonment areas was 20 MGD.
He said that the water requirement in cantonment would likely to increase 30 MGD in next five years due to massive growth of population and migration of the people to the city from other parts of the country.
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