Mockery of 24x7 water supply: City’s tanker days are here again!

Nagpur: Even after eight years since the Nagpur Municipal Corporation launched implementation of 24x7 water supply scheme, many areas in city are not getting tap water. This is evident from the fact that the NMC and Orange City Water — the private firm entrusted with implementing the 24x7 water project — have pressed 423 water tankers making almost 3,205 trips daily across the city.
Two tankers are being pressed to supply water at many residential areas in Dharampeth zone — which was projected as the city’s first zone to receive 24x7 water supply under the pilot project.
According to data procured from NMC’s water works department, the civic body has pressed 423 tankers to supply water in the city limits. Though maximum 346 tankers are being used to provide water supply that have no water network, 77 are making hundreds of trips daily to supply water in the network areas.
“At present, NMC has deployed 346 tankers in the city — mostly in non-network areas and these are making 2,422 trips daily,” said an official. OCW’s 77 tankers are being deployed to supply water in network areas,” said sources in NMC’s water works department.
Sources said that OCW has pressed 77 tankers in network areas and they are making almost 783 trips daily. Besides this, the water works department has deployed 346 tankers to supply water in non-network areas. Each tanker are making almost seven trips daily.
Sources hinted a large-scale corruption in the NMC’s water works department in deploying water tankers in the city. Citing an example, sources said two years ago, both department and OCW had pressed 250 tankers to supply water in both network and non-network areas.
Sources also pointed out the NMC has pressed 80 tankers for Hudkeshwar and Narsala, whereas there was no need for such a huge numbers of tankers. In fact, 50 tankers can suffice the water demand, added the sources.
Despite improving water network in city limits, the NMC, instead of reducing number of tankers in network areas from 207, increased the number of tankers by almost 139.
Even water tankers owners had moved the high court over breach of e-tender norms by the civic body to please failed bidders. The water works department had entrusted additional 125 water tanker owners who had failed in the bidding process. Sources also stressed the need for audit of tankers’ necessity in the city. The civic body is paying taxpayers’ Rs15 to Rs20 crore in excess every year for entrusting additional tankers, which are not required at all, sources revealed.