CHANDIGARH, July 12 — Congress MP Manish Tewari has called for a comprehensive review of the city’s 24×7 water supply project, questioning its viability, execution, and financial burden on citizens. Reacting to the ongoing vigilance probe into the pilot project in Manimajra, Tewari said the inquiry was a diversionary tactic that fails to address the core issues of the scheme’s failure.
“The vigilance investigation is meaningless if it doesn’t answer the real concerns—why this project was launched without the capacity to deliver what it promised,” Tewari said on Saturday. He accused the BJP and the Municipal Corporation (MC) of pushing the project prematurely, ahead of civic body elections, to score political points.
The probe was initiated after Chandigarh BJP president Jatinder Pal Malhotra flagged alleged corruption and mismanagement in the pilot implementation. But Tewari dismissed the move as an attempt by the saffron party to “wriggle out of the mess” they created.
He also criticised the BJP for involving Union Home Minister Amit Shah in inaugurating what he described as an incomplete and non-functional project. “They even put the Home Minister in an embarrassing position by inviting him to launch a project that wasn’t ready,” he said.
Tewari claimed that residents in Manimajra are not even receiving clean water for an hour daily, contradicting the Centre’s response in Parliament, which stated that the area receives 18 hours of water supply per day. “They have misled Parliament with false claims,” he said.
The MP reiterated his long-standing demand for a serious reassessment of the entire citywide project, including its cost and practical feasibility. He pointed out that the Municipal Corporation plans to take a ₹600-crore loan to implement the project citywide—an amount that would need to be repaid with significant interest.
“When the pilot has clearly failed, why rush to take such a huge loan?” he asked. “The views of residents must be considered. Do they want a 24×7 supply of muddy and insufficient water at a high cost, or a reliable supply of clean water for fixed hours at full pressure?”
Echoing Tewari’s concerns, former Union Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal also questioned the timing and planning of the project. “It was launched as a publicity stunt without laying the necessary groundwork. A year later, we see no improvement—only muddy water and wasted ₹75 crore of public money,” Bansal said.
Both leaders called for transparency, citizen consultation, and a pause on the full rollout until the pilot’s failures are examined and rectified.
