Chandigarh, August 29 – Nearly a decade after the Indian and French governments conceived the ambitious 24×7 water supply project for Chandigarh, the municipal corporation (MC) is now considering scrapping the plan. Officials said the decision follows the failure of the pilot project in Manimajra, launched in 2024 as a model for the citywide scheme.
The UT administration had signed a memorandum of understanding with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in 2016, under which the French agency agreed to support projects in water supply, sanitation, and waste management. The MC House approved the detailed project report (DPR) for a pan-city 24×7 water supply system in December 2019, with Chandigarh Smart City Limited tasked to execute a pilot in Manimajra at a cost of ₹165 crore.
Of the pilot outlay, ₹74 crore was earmarked for capital works and ₹91 crore for maintenance over 15 years. Union home minister Amit Shah inaugurated the scheme in August 2024. However, residents of Manimajra have since complained of foul-smelling and dirty water, malfunctioning water meters, and no improvement in supply pressure. “The objective was to improve water services, but the actual quantity of water reaching households has not increased,” said a senior MC official.
Despite these setbacks, the corporation was expected to extend the project citywide with an estimated cost of ₹510 crore. As per the plan, ₹412 crore was to be arranged as a loan from AFD, repayable over 15 years, and an additional ₹98 crore was to come as a grant from the European Union. The agreement was signed in December 2022, envisioning phased replacement of nearly 270 km of pipelines and coverage of 55 district metering areas by 2029, which would have made Chandigarh the first Indian city with a 24×7 water supply system.
However, senior officials now say the project is no longer financially sustainable. “The ₹412 crore loan was calculated on 2022 costs, but inflation and rising operational expenses are expected to nearly double the outlay by the time work begins. Repayment of the loan would require water tariffs to be nearly doubled, imposing a heavy burden on city residents,” an official said.
The DPR also failed to account for associated costs such as road recarpeting after pipeline replacements, which officials estimate will run into hundreds of crores. With the MC already facing a financial crunch, officials warn that taking on additional liabilities could severely strain the civic body’s resources.
“We are proposing that in future, only essential works required for the improvement of water supply should be carried out. Based on the adverse results seen in Manimajra, the 24×7 pan-city water supply project has proven to be completely against the interests of the citizens of Chandigarh. Therefore, we will propose that the project be stopped with immediate effect,” a senior official said.
