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Civic bodies fail to curb misuse of potable water

JALANDHAR: The state’s civic bodies have failed to check the misuse of potable water for construction work despite directions by the Punjab and Haryana High Court about four years ago.

Civic bodies fail to curb misuse of potable water


Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, February 23

The state’s civic bodies have failed to check the misuse of potable water for construction work despite directions by the Punjab and Haryana High Court about four years ago.

Following the court order, the Local Bodies Department had, in May 2013, directed that only surface water sources or treated water from sewage treatment plants (STPs) be used for construction purposes. The order specified the use of borewells and tubewells in municipal areas only for drinking and domestic use.

However, the order is being openly defied not only by individuals but also construction companies engaged in raising housing colonies, commercial buildings and shopping malls. The builders are expected to hire tankers that fetch water for the construction sites from the treatment plants.

City-based activist and BJP leader Manit Malhotra said, “It is an irony that Punjab, which is locked in a bitter fight with Haryana over riverwaters, has failed to judiciously use its water. The treated water is being flown into drains instead of being used for irrigation, gardening or construction purposes. Potable water, which is already in short supply, is being used for mixing sand and cement.”

He added, “Even the projects coming up in the vicinity of STPs are not being asked to use treated water for construction. What’s worse, the construction companies, without taking water and sewage connections from the MC, are drawing groundwater and contaminating the water table with impunity.”

As per the department order, the civic bodies had been asked to incorporate a condition in the allotment letters, building plan approval letters, permits issued by the Improvement Trusts and MCs to applicants intending to raise any construction, stating that underground water would not be used for the purpose.

SP Arora, a builder, said, “It is practically not possible to get water from treatment plants for projects which are being executed at sites located at a distance from the STPs. In that case, water has to be drawn using a borewell.”

Superintending Engineer, Jalandhar Municipal Corporation, Lakhwinder Singh said, “It is very difficult to get the order implemented. Very few builders are following it. The implementation at the individual level is a far-fetched idea.”

Chief Engineer, Local Bodies, AS Dhaliwal said, “The reuse of waste water is also one of the reforms proposed in the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. The policy under it is yet to be formulated.”

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