Imphal, January 05 2010: The Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) for sanctioning of projects under Sub Mission of UIG under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) has approved new projects for Imphal, Manipur at its 80th meeting held on December 11 last year under the chairmanship of Secretary, Urban Development.

The CSMC has approved Storm Water Drainage project for Imphal city to provide effective storm water disposal system for Imphal by re-sectioning of natural drainage to ensure quick and smooth drain-off of storm water from the city.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 102.50 crore.

The Central share of the cost will be Rs 92.25 crore while the rest will be borne by the Government of Manipur, sources here said.

The sources further said that the Central share of the cost will be sanctioned in four instalments.

The first instalment of Rs 23.06 crore will be released soon.

As soon as the released amount reaches the state government, one fourth of its share should also be released.

The project envisages construction of drainage system in all 27 wards of Imphal city to get rid of water logging and flooding.

The project will be implemented by Planning and Development Authority and Flood Control Department, Government of Manipur and will be completed in a period of two years.

An official source told the Hueiyen Lanpao that the Third Party Inspection and Monitoring (TPIM) based in New Delhi will keep an eye on the work progress of the project from day one.

The Ministry of Urban Development has already given strict instruction that if the funds released by the Centre for the project are not used properly, funds will not be released further, according to the sources.

In the first phase of the project, major drains like Waishel Maril, Merakhong, etc.

will be improved.

The improvement works include not only construction of retaining walls, but also digging diversion channels of excess water.

For the project, the Ministry had surveyed the sewerage network of Imphal Municipal areas three years ago.

The Ministry has also done satellite mapping of the Imphal Municipal areas to survey where the excess water can be diverted.

The Centre is expected to send all related papers to the state government within a month.

Once the project is completed, the problem of water logging and flooding during rains faced by the people will be considerably solved, the source added.

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