Chandigarh: Residents forced to drink dirty water as authorities pass buck

With the Municipal Corporation (MC) and Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) “evading” the responsibility over the maintenance of public health services for 4,960 small flats at Maloya, residents are forced to consume contaminated water.

The flats were constructed under the rehabilitation scheme by the Chandigarh Housing Board. While the residents have been complaining of getting contaminated water for the last one month, the MC and CHB are busy exchanging letters over the maintenance of the public health services.

The CHB claimed that the maintenance of the services, including water, sewerage and storm water drainage, deemed to be handed over to the MC on October 28, 2022, but the civic body said it had not taken over the maintenance work yet.

The stand taken by the two entities has left thousands of the area residents in the lurch as no department is officially looking after the water supply and sewerage work in the area for the last three years.

The people of the area complain that they are getting contaminated supply for the last many days. Some residents claim to be suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting.

When the issue escalated local Councillor Nirmala Devi met Municipal Commissioner Amit Kumar last week. Kumar directed Chief Engineers, Executive Engineers of MC and Chandigarh Housing Board officials to visit the area and find out the reasons behind the water contamination.

After the visit, the MC admitted that the preliminary observation suggests that the contamination is caused by leakages in the water pipes and the overflowing of sewers. It has led to the mixing of sewage with drinking water.

The MC has also accepted that as per policy, the water supply system has to be handed over to the Municipal Corporation five years after the project completion. However, due to financial constraints, the MC has not yet taken over the system, whose operation and maintenance costs around Rs 2.5 crore per year.

Soon after the visit by the MC authorities, the CHB again reminded the civic body that since the initial five-year maintenance period of the public health estate services has already lapsed and all inventory, layout plan and other details have been handed over to the concerned in MC, all the PH estate services deemed stand handed over to the MC as well.

The CHB added that the MC was even collecting sewage cess and water charges from the above-mentioned flats.

Councillor Nirmala Devi said the area people were suffering, yet the two departments were indulging in a blame game. The councillor claimed that after she, along with other councillors, met the Commissioner the MC teams visited the area and claimed that the leakage has been identified. She said this was temporary solution. The MC must take the responsibility, she added.

Congress Councillor Gurpreet Singh Gabi said the water contamination would not have happened had the MC looked after the system properly. He asked that while the MC is facing the financial crisis now, why it did not take over the maintenance earlier.

Suresh Kumar, a resident of the area, said his all family members were feeling sick for last many days. The MC should supply clean water, he added.

Kumar said they were paying the instalment for the flats and water charges, but the MC has failed to supply clean water to them.