Sonia Vihar delay blessing in disguise

VASANT KUNJ: The delay in the much-awaited Sonia Vihar water treatment plant may be drawing public''s ire for the government, but it certainly is a "blessing in disguise" for Vasant Kunj residents.
Now they are hoping that the renewed delay in the project would buy them more time to get the water pipelines for the plant laid down in the area.
Sonia Vihar plant is largely seen as a panacea for south Delhi''s water woes.However, for as long as the Vasant Kunj residents can remember, work vis-a-vis the project has always been in ''progress'' in the area.
Vinod Pant, vice-chairman of the Federation of Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) in Vasant Kunj said: "No work has been done in Vasant Kunj with regards to the Sonia Vihar treatment plant. Boards have been put up across the area, demarcating where the pipelines are supposed to be laid down, pipes are here, but the work hasn"t yet started."
Pant''s concern over the work or the lack of it, is palpable because had the scheduled deadline of December, 2003 for the project been met, Vasant Kunj would have still been bereft of water.
"How can the authorities paint a rosy picture when the basic infrastructure is not available? DJB officials keep telling us that pipelines will be laid, but as they haven''t, I don''t think they are interested," says Subhash Sahani, president of Sector C-4 RWA.
"We are hoping that with this yet another delay in the commissioning of the project, perhaps DJB will start the work of laying down water pipelines in the area," said another member of Vasant Kunj RWA.
Interestingly, former DJB chief P K Tripathi himself admitted that the laying down of water pipelines in the Vasant Kunj area would be over only by June 2004. That deadline too, was evidently, never met.
DJB''s stance however, is that of reassurance. Says Sanjam Chima of DJB: "Small delays in mammoth projects such as Sonia Vihar treatment plant should not worry residents. As of now, the work is on hold owing to the monsoons. It will start once this season is over. We will have the pipelines ready before the commissioning of the project." But whether it becomes a reality remains to be seen.