The government is devising a plan to fix meters to all households in the city to account for the non-revenue water (NRW) supplied by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) in the city, Minister for Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) K.T.Rama Rao said.
While the Intensive Household Survey has revealed that there were 21 lakh households in the city, there are only 9.2 lakh water connections as of now.
Attributing the deficit suffered by the Board to the NRW, he said a special drive will soon be conducted in order to curb the illegal tapping of water.
Efforts are to make the Board self sufficient so that it can avail loans on its own for developmental projects without government being its guarantor, the Minister said, in his media address after inaugurating four newly constructed reservoirs at various locations in the city here on Wednesday.
Ahead of schedule
The reservoirs at KPHB Colony Phase IV, Miyapur, Nallagandla, and Gopanpally, were constructed as part of the ₹1900-crore HUDCO-aided project for augmentation of water supply in the city. They will together provide 14 million litres of water.
A total of 56 reservoirs are scheduled to be constructed under the project, of which 12 are ready to be launched. The rest will be launched by August, much ahead of the schedule vis-a-vis the project deadline of June, 2018, Mr. Rama Rao said. Of the 1800 kilometres of pipeline, 1200 kilometres have already been laid in 110 days, which is a record achievement.
Asserting that the project will address the needs of localities where water supply is scarce, Mr. Rama Rao said the government is intent on providing daily water supply to all areas of the city by year-end, provided there is sufficient rainfall.
Already, 160 slums of the city are being supplied drinking water every day, he added.
Future ready
Talking of future projects, Mr. Rama Rao said a ring main pipeline will be laid to areas receiving water from Manjeera reservoir, with an outlay of ₹400 crore. A new reservoir with 20 tmcft capacity is being planned at Shamirpet with an outlay of ₹7,700 crore, to serve five times the present population. These apart, 180 village panchayats within the ORR are to be provided with water by the Board, as part of the Mission Bhagiratha project.
Ministers Nayani Narasimha Reddy and P.Mahender Reddy, besides the MP K.Vishweshwar Reddy, MLA A.Gandhi, Managing Director HMWSSB M. Dana Kishore and others were present on the occasion.
