The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has directed officials to complete delayed JICA-funded water-supply and sewerage works across 110 villages on the outskirts of Bengaluru by December, as the board expands its jurisdiction to the entire Bengaluru Urban district.
The works include reservoirs, feeder mains, pumping infrastructure, trunk pipelines and underground drainage networks intended to address service gaps in rapidly urbanising peripheral areas. BWSSB chairperson Dr N. Manjula reviewed the progress of the JICA-assisted fifth-phase works and instructed officials to accelerate pending projects, while prioritising works in the core city and speeding up tendering.
The board launched a Rs 5,550-crore Cauvery water supply project from TK Halli in Malavalli taluk in October 2024. Several components serving the 110 villages, however, remain incomplete or under construction. A BWSSB official said the supply of Cauvery water to nearly 100 villages had been delayed by legal and land-related hurdles, particularly in five villages each in the Mahadevapura and Byatarayanapura zones.
One affected project is the proposed ground-level reservoir at Chokkanahalli. The official said the legal hurdle had been cleared by the High Court, allowing work on the reservoir to proceed under JICA funding. The board is also preparing tenders worth around Rs 32.46 crore for other pending works in the area. Separately, BWSSB is preparing projects worth more than Rs 43.84 crore covering water-supply works, ground-level reservoirs, feeder mains, pumping infrastructure and sewerage networks.
New feeder mains and trunk pipelines are planned in K Channasandra, Kattigenahalli, Byrathi and Bilishivale. The proposals include a feeder main from K Channasandra towards Kannur Rural Park, another from Byrathi Ayyappa Temple Road to Bilishivale Main Road, and a pipeline from Horamavu Main Road towards the ground-level reservoir at Kalkere.
Sewerage infrastructure is also being expanded. A Rs 7.91-crore project will create a 48 MLD sewerage network in Doddakannelli, covering parts of the Bommanahalli and Mahadevapura zones. The board is also laying sewer lines near Chikkadevasandra Lake, along Krishnaraja Wadiyar Road, and in Basavanapura and Gayatri Layout in KR Puram.
The BWSSB is simultaneously accelerating work on 24 sewage treatment plants with a combined capacity of around 464 MLD, following a review meeting chaired by Forest and Environment Minister Ramalinga Reddy. Officials said the board’s expanded jurisdiction had led to the preparation of a master plan for the entire district. Before that plan is completed, smaller pending works in the 110 villages are expected to be completed by December or January.
The board has also begun a separate tender process to connect a 1,016-mm-diameter APS pipeline near Halanayakanahalli Junction on Sarjapur-Doddakannelli Road. A Rs 4.66-crore project is planned to lay ductile iron pipelines in Judicial Layout under the Yelahanka service town area, along with a feeder main from the Yelahanka Layout ground-level reservoir to Manjunathnagar.
