The city will lose 40% of its water due to leaks and theft; NMC launches Drive Against Unauthorized Connections

As Nashik grapples with erratic water supply, a shocking discovery has come to light: a whopping 40% of water is wasted due to leakage. The problem is further exacerbated by mass theft of water. To solve this problem, the municipal corporation is preparing to launch a drive to identify unauthorized water connections. This drive will involve a careful check of the dimensions of the water connections and whether the water is pumped out with the help of motors.

The city’s water needs are met by the Gangapur Dam. Despite having more than 2 lakh water supplies, the city has faced severe water wastage of around 40%. The discrepancy between the released water utility corporation and the number of official connections indicates the extent of the problem. To solve this problem, the corporation decided to engage a private agency to conduct the survey.

Water tax collection is violated

Collection of property tax and water tax was less than optimal due to manpower shortage in the revenue collection department. To improve this, the municipal corporation has decided to outsource the bill distribution system. After receiving a positive response from the revenue raising committee, the water department and the property department will work together to distribute the bills, detect unauthorized connections and verify their amounts.

Through outsourcing, names, addresses, two mobile phone numbers and email IDs of all properties in the city will be collected. This comprehensive database will be shared with various revenue departments. Just as electricity bills are distributed by the utility company, property tax and water bills will also be distributed through outsourcing. As part of this survey, the water supply will be checked.