No water supply in bldg for 16 yrs

Residents of Jai Bhawani SRA Cooperative Housing Society in Mumbai have been living without fire-fighting equipment and potable water for 16 years. They rely on expensive bottled water and have to beg for water from neighbors or collect it from a nearby temple. The building's lift has also been out of service for at least a year, making it difficult for residents to carry water to upper floors. The responsibility for the issue has been passed between the BMC, SRA, and MHADA, with no resolution in sight.

Mumbai: Residents of Jai Bhawani SRA Corporative Housing Society have not just been living precariously sans fire-fighting equipment, over the last 16 years they have been denied potable water as well. The 60-odd families have been getting by with expensive bottled water.

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Priti Kumari, who stays in a rented flat here said, it is the reason why rents are low here. “We use water from the borewell for bathing and other uses, and buy drinking water,” she said. Every other resident that HT spoke to after they were evacuated, agreed. They resort to begging for water from neighbours or collect it from a temple close by or call for tankers. Some said, they have spent around ₹20,000 on a water connection, but in vain.

The lift has not been in a working condition either for at least year, which has compounded their problem as many have to physically carry cans of water to the upper floors.

When HT presented the issue to BMC, SRA and MHADA, all three refused to take any responsibility for the lapse.

Vishwas Shankarwar, deputy municipal commissioner, BMC, said, “The building is on a slope, hence it requires an auxiliary tank. As it is in a MHADA layout, it is the responsibility of the SRA builder to build one, which was not done.”

An SRA official however countered this and pointed out that an underground tank had been built by the builder. “The building was given an OC in 2013, after all the requisite NOCs including the fire NOC. The defect liability period, when the developer maintains the building, is also completed. It is MHADA’s responsibility to supply water in a MHADA layout. Many meetings were held between the BMC, MHADA and local representatives and an NOC was acquired from MHADA for the water connection. But the society raised an objection, the reason for which is not known to me.”

A MHADA official however put the responsibility on SRA, as the building belonged to the body.

A home owner said, “While an auxiliary tank was built a few years ago, local builders of the area have been in a tussle about who gets to use it. Together with local politicians, they have been forcing residents to share the tank with other buildings in the area. Until the tank is allotted to the building, BMC cannot start the water supply.”

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