Pune civic bodies asked to submit reports defining measures to combat water shortage

The first meeting of a special committee constituted under the chairmanship of Rao to address the water shortage issues faced by citizens in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, was held on Thursday

Divisional commissioner, Saurabh Rao, on Thursday asked the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to submit reports outlining short-term and long-term measures that will be taken in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, respectively, to address the water shortage issue.

In some areas, complaints about water sold at exorbitant rates by tanker operators were received. Citizens have also complained about adulterated water being sold by tanker operators. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

The first meeting of a special committee constituted under the chairmanship of Rao to address the water shortage issues faced by citizens in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, was held on Thursday. The meeting was attended by PCMC commissioner Shekhar Singh and officials of both municipal corporations.

The committee was formed as per a Bombay High Court (HC) order dated April 10, 2023 during the hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) 126/2023 filed by the residents of urban areas of Pune district regarding the water problem.

During the meeting, complaints received from citizens regarding water problems were discussed.

Nandakishor Jagtap, head of the PMC water department, said, that they have been asked to submit an action plan with a timeline for long-term and short-term measures that will be taken by the PMC to tackle the water shortage in Pune city.

“In some areas, complaints about water sold at exorbitant rates by tanker operators were received. Citizens have also complained about adulterated water being sold by tanker operators. We are submitting the report about what action will be taken to curb this errant practice by tankers supplying water,” he said.

Jagtap informed that Pune city has a major water problem in the newly merged villages. The infrastructure in these villages is not yet developed and the water sources are limited. “The water problems in all villages were discussed during the meeting. We will soon submit the report.”

Shrikant Savane, joint city engineer of the PCMC, said that in comparison to Pune city, Pimpri-Chinchwad has fewer water problems. Officials have been asked to visit the respective areas that have water problems. “We have been asked to inform the citizens about the measures the civic body is taking to solve the water shortage problem. We will be submitting a report on the short and long-term measures which we are taking to solve the water issues in the PCMC area,” he said.