Chandigarh, June 2: To ensure supply of potable water onlong term sustainable basis in rural areas of water quality affected districts,the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday gave approval for the creation of SpecialPurpose Vehicle (SPV) for Operations & Maintenance of large multi-villagesurface water supply schemes across the state.
This first-of-its-kind in India SPV will be a utilitycompany 'Punjab Rural Water (Utility) Company' under the Water Supply &Sanitation department.
Chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder, the Cabinet, ata virtual meeting, also accorded approval to open an account in the name of theSPV, with seed money of Rs.25 crore allocated from the World Bank funds (64%)and State Budget (36%), to support its functioning in the initial five years ofoperations. The allocation will help meet the shortfall in revenue collection,if any, to fulfill the contractual obligations of the SPV and itsadministrative expenses.
The Cabinet also authorised the Chief Minister, asChairperson of the State Water Supply & Sanitation Mission, to approve, onbehalf of the Council of Ministers, any amendments in the structure, role andresponsibilities, funding pattern etc. which may be required in the future.
The Water Supply & Sanitation department is currently inthe process of executing five new multi-village surface water supply projectscovering 612 villages of Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur districts, andanother project covering 408 villages in the fluoride affected blocks ofdistricts Patiala and Fatehgarh Sahib. These projects are under construction.
Another project, covering 39 villages of Rupnagar district(Nurpurbedi block) affected by Iron/Arsenic, was commissioned in 2019. Besides,a project in Moga district, based on Design, Build Operate and Transfer (DBOT)model, was completed by M/s L&T Ltd. in January 2021 with a totalexpenditure of Rs. 218.56 Crore, benefitting 85 villages and creating apositive impact on the lives of 3.64 lakh people.
Giving details of the SPV structure, an officialspokesperson said it will ensure compliance of the contractual obligations byall stakeholders, so that the assets are properly maintained and there iscoordination among various stakeholders i.e. Water Supply & Sanitationdepartment, contractor, Gram Panchayats and users. The SPV, as an autonomousbody under DWSS, will be governed by its own constitution, with ring-fencedaccounts giving it financial independence.
The ownership of the assets created under the projects wouldvest with this SPV. This specialised agency shall ensure maintenance of higherservice delivery standards (24X7) water supply with judicious use of wateralong with proposing innovative projects (use of solar power and smartmetering).
The SPV shall institutionalise mechanisms and SOPs fortimely billing and collection to the contractor(s) for bulk water usage andprovide social, institutional and technical support to the Gram Panchayat WaterSupply Committees (GPWSCs), Cluster Level Committees (CLCs) and Scheme LevelCommittees (SLCs). Further, management of day-to-day operations, includingwater quality monitoring, management of water meters, supervision of controlroom operations, will fall within the purview. This institutional arrangementis proposed to enable a more efficient and effective running of the large-scalesurface water scheme(s).
The SPV is envisage as a thin utility in the Multi VillageScheme, in the domain of finance (managing connections, promoting newcommercial and industrial connections, meter reading, billing, collection,online payment gateway services, financial accounting & management, tariffassessment, statutory compliance), communications & customer service(grievance redressal, IEC activities, training & capacity building,branding and marketing), technical (monitoring of water quality, maintenance ofintra-village assets, monitoring and inspection of O&M contractors,supports Gram Panchayat Water Supply Committees (GPWSCs), Cluster LevelCommittees (CLCs) and Scheme Level Committees (SLCs), promoting energyefficiency, coordinating with all stakeholders) and support for database andknowledge management, generation and reporting of regular MIS.