Nine AMRUT cities in Kerala miss 135 lpcd water target

It evaluated the planning, financial management, execution, and monitoring of projects aimed at improving water supply, sewerage, and urban amenities.

Who it concerns: Government of Kerala, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Kerala Water Authority (KWA), and nine mission cities (Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode, Kannur Corporations; Alappuzha, Guruvayur, Palakkad Municipalities).

What the auditor found

• 27 projects abandoned with a cost of ₹233.55 crore due to poor Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) and lack of site investigation.
• ₹40.62 crore spent on a 100 MLD Water Treatment Plant in Kollam that is idling due to non-completion of raw water pumping mains.
• ₹31.51 crore spent on four Overhead Service Reservoirs in Kochi, Thrissur, and Palakkad that remained idle due to infrastructure gaps.
• ₹16.84 crore spent on sewage treatment infrastructure in Kollam that is idling due to failure to establish sewage collection networks.
• ₹45.43 crore utilized by Kochi Corporation for stormwater drains without a definite plan, used for routine maintenance rather than addressing root causes of flooding.
• ₹27.92 lakh spent on a musical fountain in Thrissur that became non-functional.
• ₹28.22 lakh spent on a park in Kochi that was abandoned due to lack of permission from the Kerala Coastal Zone Management Authority.
• Delays in release of central funds by the State ranging from 43 days to 15 months (average 5.9 months).
• State Level Technical Committee (SLTC) did not convene meetings for 29 months (Sept 2018 to Jan 2021), leaving 38 projects without mandatory appraisal.
• 47% of test-checked footpaths were constructed without clearing obstacles; 53% lacked tactile pavement for visually challenged persons.

Also in the document

• None of the nine mission cities achieved the objective of providing 135 liters per capita per day (lpcd) drinking water to households.
• Household water supply coverage ranged from as low as 9.39% in Guruvayur Municipality to 89.16% in Kochi Corporation.
• Mission cities except Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, and Kannur could not establish any sewage collection and treatment systems.
• Kochi and Kannur Municipal Corporations had negligible sewage coverage of 3% and 1% respectively.
• Thiruvananthapuram Corporation failed to expand its sewage network coverage despite treating 34% of sewage at the start of the scheme.