Pune Approved Water Quota to End in 12 Days Over Pending Arrears; Is Supply at Risk?

Pune: The Water Resources Department has approved an 11.60 TMC water quota for Pune city, to be supplied to the Municipal Corporation. However, the department has warned that water supply will be immediately disconnected in fifteen days if the Municipal Corporation's arrears of ₹933 crore remain unpaid. Last month, the Water Resources Department had issued a notice of arrears of Rs 953 crore.

According to the information given by the Water Resources Department, it is clear that the Municipal Corporation is collecting only Rs 10 crore as water fee every month. Therefore, the attention of Punekars is now focused on whether the Municipal Corporation will pay this amount or the Water Resources Department will disconnect the water supply.

To quench the thirst of Punekars, 11.60 TMC of water has been reserved for the city from the Khadakwasla project of the Water Resources Department. Out of the total 29 TMC in this project, the remaining water, excluding evaporation, is used for agricultural irrigation in rural areas. However, according to the Water Resources Department, the Municipal Corporation has used 8.84 TMC of additional water in the financial year 2024-25 last year. As per the provisions of the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority, if an additional 25 percent of water is used, a fine of one and a half times the water consumption rate is levied, and if it is used more than that, a fine of three times the water consumption rate is levied.

It has been observed that the Municipal Corporation has been using excess water since 2016. Therefore, the Water Resources Department has levied a fine on the Municipal Corporation as per the provisions. The Municipal Corporation has so far an arrears of Rs 952 crore 62 lakh. The Municipal Corporation has deposited an amount of Rs 19 crore 75 lakh with the Water Resources Department for the water charges for the two months of November and December. However, the Water Resources Department says that the Municipal Corporation has an arrears of Rs 932 crore 88 lakh as of the end of February. Despite the arrears, it is clear from the statistics that the Municipal Corporation is depositing only Rs 10 crore of water charges to the Water Resources Department every month.

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By January 31, the Municipal Corporation had used 11.23 TMC of its annual approved water quota, with the remaining 0.36 TMC expected to be depleted in the next 12 days. Consequently, the Water Resources Department has instructed the Municipal Corporation to secure water from alternative sources once the quota is exhausted and warned that it will terminate the approved water quota at that time. Furthermore, the department has demanded immediate payment of Rs 932.88 crore in arrears.