BMC Water For All Policy: 46% applicants have connections after 10 months

Mumbai: The BMC has provided water connections to 46% applicants under the ‘Water For All Policy’ which was announced with much fanfare at an event in Goregaon on May 7 last year. In the last 10 months, the civic body has received 3,204 applications under the policy and 1,468 were provided connections, a senior civic official said. 

Earlier, only BMC-mapped structures were entitled to water connections. The policy was framed to provide water to all unmapped slums. It aims to improve water availability in areas such as slums on private or commercial land and illegal establishments that don’t get tap water. 

Official: Process of laying the pipelines has started

A senior civic official said, “The process of laying the pipelines has started and at least 1,468 applicants have received connections till now.” Under the policy, the BMC will provide one tap connection for a group of five families. 

Activist Sitaram Shelar, who is the founder of Pani Haq Samiti (Right to watercampaign), said there are 150 slums and 55,000 buildings without occupation certificates with around 20 lakh residents who don’t have water connections. He added that currently for a connection the application is moved from several desks in the BMC, so the standard operating procedure (SOP) should be changed and a single window system should be opened.

Applicants need to provide valid residential proof, install a water meter and pay for maintenance and repair of the pipeline. After fulfilling all conditions, the applicantscan get a connection within 15 days, claimed a civic official. Following an order of the Bombay High Court, that said water supply is a fundamental right, irrespective of whether the house is legal or illegal, the BMC had first sanctioned the policy in 2016.