Pay arrears or face water disconnection, PMC warns govt bodies
Contaminated RO Water in GBS-Affected Pune Areas Raises Alarms
By: Pune Pulse
December 27, 2023
Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has chosen to send notices to the relevant institutions demanding the payment of arrears by January 31 failing which, their water supply will be disconnected, as part of a crackdown on government bodies with past-due water bills.
The PMC provides water to many federal, state, and municipal government offices, along with the railways, and the cantonments of Pune and Khadki. The PMC water supply department claims that over a decade has passed since the payment of ₹650 crore in outstanding water bills. Of the ₹650 crore in arrears, the cantonments of Khadki, Pune, the state, and the federal government are owed ₹250 crore. The PMC has sent out additional notices as a result of the concerned bodies’ failure to respond to repeated attempts to collect the arrears.
Vikram Kumar, the PMC commissioner, stated on Tuesday ( December 26) that prompt payment is required and that there will be a water supply cutoff if bills are not paid by January 31, 2024. He further stated that if the agencies fail to pay their water bills, they will take action to cut off their water supply.
The municipal corporation started a campaign to collect arrears from government institutions last year as well. Only the Pune cantonment owed the PMC ₹40 crore, which resulted in the water supply being temporarily cut off. The Pune cantonment promptly paid ₹2 crore toward the outstanding balance; however, the remaining arrears remained unpaid. As a result, the campaign this year will likely be more demanding.
Meanwhile, work is in progress to use the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran to supply water to Uruli Devachi, Phursungi, and Mantarwadi. The pipeline, storage tank, and water plant were completed, but delays in obtaining permissions from the railway plagued the project. Now that the railway has given its approval, the project is almost finished. Water from the Pune cantonment water treatment plant (WTP) will be piped directly to Phursungi, diverting wastewater from the Mutha right canal. The water center’s pump installation is anticipated to be finished by the end of the following month, allowing the water supply to the designated areas to resume. On Tuesday, December 26, Ajit Pawar, the deputy chief minister, visited the project.
