HC hopes the water supply scheme completes within deadline

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court comprising Justice Ravindra Ghughe and Justice Sanjay Deshmukh, on Wednesday, ordered the member secretary of Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP) to personally monitor and give necessary guidance so that the city’s new water supply scheme gets completed as per the terms and conditions within the stipulated deadline.

The bench also ordered the contractor to speed up the works, while the administration and the High Court-appointed committee, should also keep a vigil on the ongoing water works.

Meanwhile, the bench directs the executive engineer (Command Area and Development Authority - CADA Office) to grant permission to lift 40,000 cubic metres of black soil and murum that are required for the construction of Coffer Dam and Jack Well in the Jayakwadi Dam, by Thursday (April 13) 5 pm. While the MJP has been ordered to provide the soil and murum to the contractor. The contractor is also instructed to pay the value of the supplied material as per his agreement.

The bench also informed MJP to prepare a progress report of the ongoing water works every fortnight and submit its one copy each to the member secretary (MJP), High Court-appointed committee and the High Court.

The court observed that its appointed committee is keeping a vigil on the waterworks with responsibility. Hence it issued an order stating that the divisional commissioner and the committee’s president Sunil Kendrekar should not be transferred till the new water supply scheme gets completed.

The order also refrains the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation (CSMC) from undertaking a tender process to appoint a contractor to supply water to the citizens through tankers, without obtaining clearance from the High Court-appointed committee. Meanwhile, Adv Sambhaji Tope, representing the CSMC, pointed out that the corporation has earned Rs 2 crore more compared to the expense made on water supply through tankers from 2018 to 2023. However, the amicus curiae Sachin Deshmukh brought to the notice of the court that the tanker lobby is of none other than the elected public representatives only.

In today’s hearing the contractor was represented by veteran lawyer R N Dhorde, Adv Karpe and Adv Suryavanshi. The senior lawyer Rajendra Deshmukh, Adv Vinod Patil and Adv Amol Wasmatkar pleaded on behalf of MJP,

government pleader D R Kale and assistant public prosecutor Sujeet Karlekar and Adv Amit Mukhedkar represented the principal petitioner.

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Misleading of court

The bench today expressed its disappointment over the misleading statement made by a new water supply scheme contractor in the High Court during the last hearing. The chief administrative officer Dhawangade of the company which has taken the contract for the water project submitted a false assurance in the court stating that seven elevated storage reservoirs (ESRs) will be handed over to CSMC by March 31 and three ESRs by April 30. It is apparent that the contractor has misled the court by playing with the words, stated the bench.