Navi Mumbai to conduct survey of actual tenements in slums, villages

To meet the rising demand for water in days to come, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has decided to give an independent connection to each tenement in villages and slums. The civic body will carry out a survey to know the exact number of new houses constructed in place of old houses or the rise in floors and accordingly decide the number of taps in each building. The survey of tenements will be conducted by each ward.

The NMMC will also collect charges for water supply from each tap instead of a building. So far, the civic body used to collect water charges from buildings in villages or slums.

A senior official from the water supply department said, “Now each house in villages, extended villages and slums without meters will have to pay Rs 50 monthly for each tap. Houses that use a common tap outside their houses will have to pay Rs 30 monthly.” Similarly, the commercial unit will have to pay for each tap.

Over the period, there has been a rise in family members, and old houses have been demolished to build new ones. In several areas, commercial floors were constructed on the ground floor of some buildings.

At some places, a one-floor building is now a four-storey structure, resulting in increased water connections. This has increased the pressure on the existing pipelines. As a result, the civic body often receives complaints of low pressure or inadequate water supply in different areas.

Under the NMMC jurisdiction, there are 28 gaothans (villages) and 48 slums. Indiranagar, Hanuman Nagar, Savli Gaon, Talvali, Rabada, Chinchpada, Ishwar Nagar, Sathe Nagar, Shirvane Gaon are among the popular slum pockets and gaothan in the NMMC area.

Yogesh D Bhoir from Kopri village said there is no problem paying Rs 50 per month for each tenement, but the civic body must ensure there should not be unnecessary water cut during summer and supply should not be contaminated.

Activist Prof Vinil Kumar Singh from Vashi said slum dwellers have a meagre income and paying Rs 50 is a concern for them. “What is the guarantee that the civic body will ensure that there are no water cuts in summer because the needs of lower sections of society are often neglected,” he said.

Each tenement to get water connection for Rs 50 per month