Civic body warns of penalties to societies consuming more water than quota allotted

NAVI MUMBAI: Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) is cracking down on residents taking the water supply in the city for granted

NAVI MUMBAI: Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) is cracking down on residents taking the water supply in the city for granted. It has issued notices to 333 housing societies for consuming more than the quota of water allotted.

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The housing societies, who have been issued notices, are spread all over the city in each of the civic ward jurisdiction. There are 80 such societies in Digha, 75 in Vashi ward, 60 in Belapur, 55 in Kopar Khairane, 30 in Ghansoli, 15 in Nerul, 10 in Turbhe and eight in Airoli ward.

The action comes in the wake of the civic body resorting to a weekly half-day water cut in the city since the start of the month. The existing water stock in NMMC-owned Morbe Dam has come down to 33% and is expected to last till August 3. The water cut was imposed to ensure there is enough stock of water as the monsoon is expected to be delayed this year.

The NMMC has taken a serious view of the surplus use of water in the city and also the illegal means through which it is sourced by some.

Sanjay Desai, NMMC city engineer, said, “The NMMC supplies 30,000 litres of water at ₹50 per month to gaothans, slums and CIDCO-constructed buildings. Private housing societies are charged at ₹4.75 per 1,000 litre of water. Obviously, the charges are very less.”

“We have agreements with all the housing societies on the quantum of water that they should use every month. This has been calculated on the basis of the norm of around 135-150 litres daily for every individual. But we have found that the usage has gone up anywhere from 250 litres per day to 340 litres per day by individuals on an average,” said Desai.

“We cannot allow such wastage of water and hence, have issued notices to the 333 housing societies all over the city that are defaulting on the agreement conditions. If we do not see any change soon, we will penalise such housing societies and charge them at commercial rates for the water supply,” said Desai.

He said the civic body has also undertaken drives to catch and penalise people taking illegal connections from the NMMC pipelines, drawing excess water using booster pumps, those using domestic supply for commercial purposes in gaothans and slums and illegal connections taken for illegal buildings.

Desai said, “The natural resource seems to have been taken for granted by a section of the citizens, who don’t think twice before wasting it. It is the responsibility of the citizens to value the water supply they are getting and use it judiciously.”