Supply of 24-hour drinking water will not be possible when Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation is at present able to get just 56 million gallons per day (MGD) – of which 16 MGD is being distributed to the industries, CPI (M) city committee secretary B. Ganga Rao said.
“If one hour supply is done to all, we will need at least 80 MGD whereas the city is already facing a shortage of 40 MGD,” he said on Monday and described the promise of 24x7 as eyewash.
Poking fun at the Revised City Development Plan to ensure 24x7 supply, he said the city at present had 1.48 lakh drinking water connections with majority depending on either groundwater or tanker supply.
He said the number of public taps had been reduced from 20,000 to 6,000 with an ulterior motive. Now with the plans to install water meters, they wanted to fleece all. White card holders availing themselves of subsidy were now paying Rs.80 per month. For other with half inch pipeline, it is Rs.120 pm and for three-fourth inch pipe, it is Rs.160 p.m. On an average each household consumes 25 to 30 kilo litres. The tariff would be doubled if the meters were installed, he said.
Under JNNURM, Rs.274 crore would be spent under Public Private Partnership mode towards water supply. GVMC had already taken up work at a cost of Rs.84 crore for 24x7, water supply in 85 to 89 wards.
Mr. Rao said the GVMC under the garb of PPP mode, was bent upon privatising water supply and levying heavy burden on the people by collecting more towards water charges.
