CHANDIGARH: All city residents with houses of one kanal and above will now be required to pay for tertiary treated (TT) water, regardless of whether they use it on their premises. This decision was taken by the general house of the municipal corporation on Tuesday.
The MC expects to earn around Rs 3 crore from the move to make TT water supply mandatory.
In addition, the current charges for TT water have been increased, and a specific clause has been added to the water byelaws to encourage residents to take TT water connections for non-potable purposes. Notably, most municipal councillors raised multiple issues and anomalies regarding the smooth and proper supply of TT water during the discussion. The concerned officials promised to resolve all issues to the satisfaction of the consumers.
Three main clauses were discussed and subsequently approved by the general house. According to the approved agenda item, firstly, 7.5% of the total water bill may be charged to one kanal-plus house owners who have not taken TT water connections despite its feasibility or availability. Secondly, the rates for TT water will be set at Rs 7 per kilolitre, in line with the Delhi Jal Board.
Lastly, the MC has urged consumers to use TT water for other purposes, such as construction, chilling plants, AC cooling units after softening, and other industrial purposes for washing, subject to the fulfillment of parameters by the consuming agency.
The BJP unanimously rejected the proposals for residential areas. BJP’s Saurabh Joshi said that these measures (increasing the rates and making TT water connections mandatory) should first apply to commercial areas.
He suggested that once the network of TT lines is fully laid down in all areas of the city, it should then be extended to residential areas. However, the ruling AAP-Congress alliance rejected the BJP councillor’s views and approved the agenda with a majority vote to implement it in both residential and commercial areas across the city. The BJP councillors also expressed strong dissent against imposing this on residential areas.
During the discussion, BJP municipal councillor Harpreet Kaur Babla raised concerns, stating: “The TT water supply is not satisfactory in the areas of her municipal wards. There is no proper supply of TT water, and during the summer season, the supply is almost negligible.”
AAP’s Prem Lata said: “TT water supply lines are not reliable, and these pipelines are frequently breaking and bursting in many areas across the city, which is a major concern. None of the officers come to the site to check the quality of the water pipelines when they are being laid down.”
Congress’s Gurpreet Singh said: “The TT water supply pipelines in my municipal wards keep leaking most of the time.”
BJP’s Maheshinder Singh Sidhu said: “Though it has been reduced, the smell in the TT water is still an issue. Moreover, the timing of the supply is a key concern, and it should be provided early in the day so that people can use the TT water facility properly. There should be strict compliance with TT water and TT water pipeline-related complaints.”
In the agenda, MC officials reported that out of a total of 7,385 houses of one kanal and above, only 2,906 have TT water connections. Similarly, out of 414 institutions, only 150 are covered under TT water connections. The agenda states: “Consumers must take a connection of tertiary treated water within three months from the date of notification regarding the amendment of the water supply byelaws; otherwise, a penal rate will be charged.”
MC’s chief engineer Sanjay Arora informed the members of the general house that over 430 km of TT lines have been laid in different parts of the city. Work on over 160 km of TT lines is ongoing, with the majority of this work already completed.
Source Homevior.in
