Under Phase -II, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board proposes to divert additional 15 tmcft of water from Godavari.
Published Aug 07, 2024 | 12:29 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 07, 2024 | 12:29 PM
An image of the Godavari river. (Creative Commons)
The Telangana government has given the clearance for Godavari Drinking Water Supply Phase -II and before long, Hyderabad will have additional drinking water supply.
The municipal administration and urban development issued a Government Order (GO) Number 345 to this effect.
The project will entail an investment of ₹5,560 crore. It proposes diverting water to Hyderabad from Mallanna Sagar in Siddipet district, part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme, to supplement its drinking water requirement.
It also aims to rejuvenate Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar, two large water bodies in Hyderabad. The scheme will be taken up under Hybrid Annuity Mode.
Now, Hyderabad gets water between 580 million gallons per day (MGD) and 600 MGD.
The state government came up with the second phase of the Godavari Water Diversion Scheme as the current amount may not be sufficient in the future as the population of the city is growing.
The state government has kept in mind the drinking water requirements of Hyderabad till 2030. It is estimated that it will increase to 750 MGD, and by 2050, it will touch the 1014 MGD mark.
As the state can divert up to 30 tmcft of water from the Godavari River, it has decided to implement Phase II of the Godavari diversion scheme under which 170 MGD water would be supplied to Hyderabad.
The state government is already diverting 10 tmcft of Godavari waters from the Yellamapall project under Phase I. Under Phase -II, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board, popularly known as Water Board, proposes to divert additional 15 tmcft of water.
Of the total water 10 tmcft would be used for drinking purposes and the rest for rejuvenating Himayat Sagar and Osman Sagar as part of the grand scheme of cleansing the Musi river.
The WAPCOS, a consultancy service provider under the ownership of the Government of India has already prepared the DPR for phase II of the Godavari Water Diversion scheme.
As part of it, pump houses would be constructed and huge pipelines of 3,600 mm diametres will be laid from Mallanna Sagar. There will also be a water treatment plant with a capacity of 780 MLD between Ghanpur and Shameerpet.
The water board proposes to complete the project within the next two years. Under phase I, the water board is supplying 163 MGD of water.
After the Congress came to power in the state, it allocated ₹3,849.10 crore for Sewage Treatment Plants (STP) and recently ₹5,560 crore for phase II of the Godavari Water Diversion Scheme.
Altogether, the water board has received an allocation of ₹9,410 core, the highest in the last 10 years, an official press release said.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil)
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