Over 1 lakh illegal water connections in Faridabad, 74K in Karnal: House panel

The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Vidhan Sabha has highlighted that there are over 1 lakh illegal water connections in Faridabad city and 74,000 in Karnal, while also drawing attention to uranium contamination in groundwater across 16 districts of the state.

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The PAC report, tabled in the Vidhan Sabha on March 26, discusses the 2023 CAG report on rural and urban water supply schemes, pointing out inadequate drinking water supply and unmetered connections.

Three departments oversee the supply of drinking water in Haryana. The Public Health Department manages water supply in rural areas and cities, the Urban Local Bodies Department (ULBD) is responsible for five cities — Gurugram, Faridabad, Karnal, Panipat and Sonipat — and Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) handles supply in sectors developed by it.

According to the ULBD’s response, the PAC report noted that there are 1,04,961 illegal connections in Faridabad and 74,001 in Karnal. “This has not only failed to curb water wastage, but also resulted in revenue losses for the government,” said PAC Chairman and Nuh MLA Aftab Ahmed.

As per the National Water Policy, all existing unmetered connections in urban areas were to be converted into metered connections within one year from the date of policy notification. In rural areas, 50 per cent of connections were supposed to be metered by March 2017. However, the government has not taken any steps to implement this policy, the report stated.

Regarding water quality, the CAG found that drinking water was contaminated with coliforms, while physical and chemical parameters exceeded permissible limits. Frogs and algae were even found in water tanks. Seven out of eight locations in the Faridabad MC failed water quality tests. The PAC also noted that 16 districts — Ambala, Bhiwani, Faridabad, Fatehabad, Gurugram, Hisar, Jhajjar, Jind, Kaithal, Karnal, Kurukshetra, Mewat, Palwal, Panipat, Sirsa, and Sonepat — have reported uranium levels exceeding permissible limits at one or more locations, according to the Central Ground Water Board. However, testing facilities remain inadequate.

“The government must take timely remedial measures to prevent people from being exposed to contaminated groundwater. There is an urgent need to upgrade laboratory infrastructure and deploy adequate manpower to enhance testing facilities,” said Ahmed.

According to the Central Water Policy, there should have been a transition from tubewell-based water supply to a canal-based system, but no concrete efforts have been made in this direction, Ahmed added.

Criticizing the Public Health Department for charging flat rates for water use, the PAC stated:

"The committee desires that sincere and pragmatic steps be taken to convert all existing unmetered connections into metered connections to achieve the objective of the water policy — billing consumers based on volumetric water consumption instead of flat rates. An action taken report must be submitted to the Committee for further consideration."

Even after 13 years since its launch, the Public Health Department has failed to establish the water supply infrastructure under the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Basti Scheme, the PAC report added.