Pune Municipal Corporation draws 8 TMC more than quota, needs to treat 80% of water, says minister
He, however, clarified that there is no plan to curtail the city's existing usage, but the civic body needs to treat 80% of the water and make it available for farming purposes.
Patil announced the formation of a task force comprising officials from PMC and the irrigation department, which will suggest in two months measures to improve water treatment and reduce wastage that is currently pegged at 40%. State govt is working on a proposal to fetch an additional 10 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water from Mulshi dam for the city's drinking needs.
PMC has been demanding an "official" increase in the water quota to 21 TMC, citing a rise in population and merger of 23 areas with the corporation. Patil held a meeting at the civic headquarters where MLAs Hemant Ranse, Sunil Kamble, Siddharth Shirole, Bhimrao Tapkir, and Bapu Pathare, along with minister of state for urban development Madhuri Misal were present.
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"There is no question of giving less water to the city, as PMC is already drawing around 22 TMC a year.
The administration, however, needs to improve water treatment, which is around 30% at present, and take it to 80%. For this, the treatment plants will have to be upgraded, and more such plants will have to be set up. These efforts are to make more water available for agriculture purposes. About 40,000 hectares of farm land from Indapur, Daund, Purandar talukas are not getting adquate water.
The task force will study all these issues," Patil told the media later.
While the irrigation department has claimed dues and fines amounting to Rs722 crore from PMC, the civic body has disputed the claim. "The task force will also discuss these issues" the minister said.
Ranse said the civic administration and irrigation department officials should sit together to find out how much water the city is getting, the quantity of water being recycled, and the amount going to farms. Shirole said there is a need to prepare a plan for the city's water requirement for the next 30 years.
Action against encroachments along dams
Patil said steps are being taken to restrict the release of untreated water into the dams and action will be taken against illegal constructions around the reservoirs. "Govt is planning to go ahead with a approach wherein sewage treatment plants for villages located along the dams will be built in clusters," he added.
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