Over 1,000 RO water plants dysfunctional: House panel

Even as several villages across the state are struggling for potable water, more than a thousand Reverse Osmosis (RO) water plants meant to address the problem are dysfunctional, according to a legislature committee report.

The Committee on Local Bodies and Panchayat Raj, in its report tabled in the Legislative Assembly earlier this week, noted that of the total 5,911 RO plants installed by the Karnataka Rural Infrastructure Development Ltd (KRIDL), as many as 1,165 plants were not working.

The maintenance issues emerged once the period of Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) was over and the plants were supposed to be handed over to gram panchayats, the report said.

Providing a zone-wise breakup, the report stated that in Bengaluru Zone, 56 plants out of 820 commissioned were not working after the AMC period, while 358 plants out of 891 in Mysuru Zone, 101 plants of 1,196 in Chitradurga Zone, 230 plants of 756 in Kalaburagi Zone and 420 plants of 2,248 in Belagavi Zone, were dysfunctional.

Thirthahalli Legislator Araga Jnanendra, who led the committee, said some plants were left half done, while others lacked maintenance. "The money spent into it has gone waste as the plants are not functioning. The government needs to give contracts for regular maintenance of the plants," he said.

It may be noted that the data mentioned in the report pertains to water plants installed through KRIDL alone, while the state government had also taken up RO plant installation through co-operative agencies apart from calling for tenders and utilising MP/MLA funds among others.

Rural Development & Panchayat Raj (RDPR) principal secretary L K Atheeq told DH that maintenance of RO water plants had indeed become a challenge for the government. "In some instances, we lose the water source (borewell) and the plant stops functioning, whereas in others, technical issues emerge," he said.

To address this issue, the government has called for tenders for maintenance of the plants for a period of five years, while also giving panchayats a one-time repair cost, he added.

In June 2019, the Cabinet approved spending an estimated Rs 533 crore over five years to outsource the maintenance of the drinking water purification units that used RO technology.