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No sewer connection allotted in Sangrur’s Bhawanigarh since 2019
According to the Bhawanigarh civic body, there are total 45,051 units, including residential and commercial, in the town and all have availed the sewer connections in unauthorised manners
The municipal council of Sangrur’s Bhawanigarh town has turned a mute spectator while residents are constantly enjoying unauthorised sewer connections, resulting in loss of crores to the civic body every year.
Despite spending around ₹20 crore on a sewerage system in the town in 2019, not even a single legitimate connection has been allotted to the households.
“Neither any household has tried to obtain the connection, nor the civic body has attempted to regularise any connection,” said an official pleading anonymity.
This is despite the implementation of ‘One Time Settlement Policy’ in the state. Punjab government had rolled out this policy for defaulters last year and allowed them to regularise their connection at meagre charges.
According to the Bhawanigarh civic body, there are total 45,051 units, including residential and commercial, in the town and all have availed the sewer connections in unauthorised manners.
To obtain a new connection, residents have to pay over ₹5,000 under various heads, including road-cutting charges, labour charges, security fee, connection fee and other charges. Besides, the residents have to pay ₹50 per month to the civic body.
No sanctioned post of sewerman
Also, there is not a single sanctioned post of sewerman in the municipal council. In the absence of sewermen, the administration has to manage with the sweepers whenever the sewerage system gets choked, which happens almost every week, said an official of the civic body, who wished not to be named.
In 2019, the Punjab government had laid sewerage system in the entire town. Two years before that, sewer pipes were also installed in a few parts of the town.
However, the civic body has failed to generate any income out of that and locals are using this facility for free.
Additional deputy commissioner (urban) Latif Ahmed, meanwhile, said, “We are trying to handover the sewerage system to the Punjab water and sewerage board for maintenance and further work.”
