Mumbai: Three days after the High Court rapped the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation for not providing water to illegal slum-dwellers, the civic administration has taken the first step in this direction. A proposal, which will be brought before the standing committee within a fortnight, has recommended providing authorised connections to slums which have come up in the city after the year 2000. Surprisingly, standing committee chairman Yashodhar Phanse also said that the committee “may consider the proposal,” thus raising eyebrows, since the Shiv Sena had opposed the decision in the past.
Mumbai has more than fifty lakh people living in regularized as well as unregularised slums. At present, the civic body provides water to slums that had come up before the year 2000, on the plea that any shanties that had cropped up after that are illegal. Thus, 27 to 28 per cent of its water has been unaccounted for, which means stolen. Presently slums with legal connections get 45 litres of water per person, while residential societies get 135 litres of water per person.
After much hue and cry, municipal commissioner Sitaram Kunte had written to the state’s Urban Development department last year, seeking permission to give authorised connections to the slum dwellers. He received permission a few months ago, and this proposal is the next step forward.
“There are three objectives here. First, when done legally, even the poorest slum-dwellers living in the fag-end of the area will receive water. Second, it will become a new source of revenue for the civic body. Third and most importantly, water theft is a major source of contamination. That will be prevented,” a senior official in the BMC told FPJ on conditions of anonymity. However, exactly how much will the BMC gain in terms of revenue has not been estimated yet. Once the proposal is cleared by the standing committee, it will be discussed in detail in the BMC general body. Only after it gets a final nod will the project come into effect.
However, NGOs are skeptical. Sitaram Shelar, convenor of Pani Haq Samiti, which has filed a petition for the same in the High Court, said, “I would rather rely on the judiciary than expect this proposal to be passed in the BMC. In the past, political parties like the Shiv Sena had refused permission on the ground that it will attract illegal migrant slum-dwellers. But that argument is not tenable since 35 lakh illegal migrants have come into the city since 1995.” Shelar also alleged that political parties have vested interests in maintaining the status quo since many politicians own water tanker services. “We have never demanded free water for anyone. All we demand is dignity for every slum-dweller,” Shelar added.
