Aurangabad:
The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has prepared a 42-points action programme to face water shortage in the city during the last summer. It included the fixing of meters on commercial water connections in the city. However, the AMC officials launched the drive and halted it after fixing eight meters. Ironically, the High Court is serious about the issue of water supply in the city, but the action of AMC raises eyebrows.
Every year, there emerges an acute water shortage in the summer and apparently, the AMC announces myriad schemes to overcome it. Last year, to tackle the scarcity, important measures like replacing the damaged 700 mm pipeline; pumps at Jayakwadi and Nakshatrawadi; fixing meters on commercial water connections etc were decided to be undertaken.
In the meantime, the Aurangabad Smart City Development Corporation Limited (ASCDCL) without seeking permission from AMC floated a tender of Rs 13.16 crore to purchase water meters. The AMC officers objected to it as the civic body already had purchased 5,000 meters under a parallel pipeline project. These meters are lying in the AMC's godown at Garkheda. Later on, the ASCDCL cancelled the tender.
Last summer, the AMC was directed to fix the meters on commercial water connections. The water supply officials geared up to implement the drive. They even fixed eight meters and then halted the scheme as the summer season was over and people's outcry demanding water got reduced.
Now, after four months, the water scarcity would prevail in the summer, then also the AMC is yet to gear up and fix the meters in its possession. The experts fear that the stock of meters would get damaged if they are dumped again further. Notably, the AMC had spent lakhs of rupees on the purchase of these water meters.