RAWALPINDI, Feb 26: The second phase of the Asian Development Bank-funded Community Water Supply and Sanitation Project (CWSSP) has entered into its operational stage, official sources told Dawn on Thursday.

The project aims at laying water supply and drainage systems in the rural areas of 23 districts of Punjab including Rawalpindi. The project will benefit those rural areas of Rawalpindi district which lack permanent water supply and drainage systems.

In Rawalpindi Tehsil the areas falling in the jurisdiction of Tehsil Municipal Administration (TMA) and Cantonment Board would benefit from the project, the sources added. They said the Asian Development Bank had approved the cost of the project last year and established Project Management Unit (PMU) for its implementation.

When the CWSSP executive engineer, Shahid Azhar, was contacted, he told Dawn that the projects could be initiated in any locality having the minimum population of 800 to 1,000 people. However, he explained, the projects could also be initiated at the request of the residents through the PMU.

The approximate amount for each project would be from Rs5 million to Rs8 million of which 2 per cent of the total cost would be paid by the residents in cash, while 4.5 per cent of the total cost would be provided by the people in the form of arranging labourers and buying land etc for the project, he said. The cost for some projects could also be increased in some special cases, he maintained.

The bank would lay the water supply and drainage networks, while the area residents would be responsible for their maintenance after completion, Mr Azhar said.

Responding to a question, he said: "75 per cent of the total cost of the project would be spent on laying water supply lines, while the remaining amount would go towards laying the drainage system."

"All localities have equal opportunity to seek the help of the bank without contacting their MPAs, MNAs, Nazims and councillors. The rural areas of Murree and Kotli Sattian suffering from shortage of potable water could also benefit from the project," Mr Azhar said.