Meeting of special committee held to address water scarcity issues in Pune
On 21st February (Wednesday), a meeting of a special committee, formed under the directions of Bombay High Court in Water PIL 126 of 2022, was held at Joint Commissioner’s Office.
Satya Muley, Advocate, Bombay High Court & Supreme Court of India, said “The proposed arrangement shall facilitate the capturing of the complaints. Housing complexes must now come forward and send their water scarcity related complaints via emails. We shall compile a report about complaints and action taken by the respective corporations and submit it to Bombay High Court.”
As per further information shared by Satya Muley,
Points discussed:
The meeting was held primarily to streamline and develop a mutually acceptable procedure for the conduct of meetings of the special committee to address the water scarcity problems in PMC, PCMC and PMRDA region. This is expected to improve the response to the complaints, as a structured format is being developed for capturing the grievances and attend them. It is also felt that it is not possible for all the Housing complexes to send their representatives for the special committee meeting, therefore a mechanism to receive their complaints through email be implemented.
Key points discussed:
PMC & PCMC to publish emails to receive complaints about water scarcity from all housing societies, apartments and housing complexes. PMC & PCMC to conduct separate meetings per month to address the complaints received. Bi-Monthly meeting with PMC & PCMC and representatives of citizens to be conducted, presided by the Divisional Commissioners Office. Issues which are not resolved in monthly meeting to be attended in bi-monthly meeting. PMRDA to also form similar mechanism to address the water scarcity complaints from PMRDA region. At least 4 days advance notice about the meetings shall be given by respective authorities. Participation of Member Secretary, District Legal Aid Services Authority shall be ensured to comply with Bombay High Court’s Orders. The Action taken report and minutes of meetings are to be published for information of all, and a report shall be submitted to the Bombay High Court.
Current Situation:
It was brought to the notice of the all authorities, that at present during the onset of the summer, the water scarcity problem has become oppressive and huge amounts are spent by the Housing complexes to buy the water through water tankers. Also, numerous people including children, and senior citizens are suffering from stomach issues and other health issues due to unchecked polluted and expensive water supplied by the private water tanker operators.
Pushkar Kulkarni stressed that the PMC and PCMC must make provision of the water through tankers if they are not able to provide water through existing or lack of infrastructure.
Advocate Satya Muley mentioned that the PMC, PCMC and PMRDA must discontinue the practice of taking water affidavits from the builders as the arrangement is encouraging the growth of water tanker mafia and also insisted on PMRDA to also implement the procedure for grievance redressal regarding water scarcity in their jurisdiction. It is already agreed that PMRDA shall first ensure source of water before giving new commencement certificates, and that PMRDA shall be a part of such special committee to address the water scarcity related grievances. The PIL 126 of 2022 was filed through Advocate Satya Muley by various NGOs from PMC, PCMC and PMRDA regions.
Email for sending Water scarcity complaints in:
PMC : [email protected]
PCMC : [email protected]
IMPORTANT: PLEASE MARK A CC OF YOUR EMAIL TO: [email protected]
