The State government has proposed to hand over bulk drinking water supply from the Thumbe Vented Dam to the city and operation and maintenance of the pumping station at Thumbe to Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWS&DB) leaving water supply in the city with Mangaluru City Corporation, according to official sources.
If the government goes ahead with the proposal, there will be two government agencies involved in the operation and maintenance of water supply in the city.
Accordingly, KUWS&DB will supply bulk water from the Thumbe to the storage reservoirs, mainly in Bendoorwell and Padil, in the city, maintain the two main water supply lines of 18 MGD capacity between Thumbe and Mangaluru and operate and maintain the pumpsets at Thumbe. And, the city corporation will supply water to 60 wards in the city.
Now, the entire water supply from source to distribution is handled by the corporation.
Expressing fears that the proposal, when it becomes a reality, might lead to co-ordination issues and blame-game between the two agencies while addressing the supply and maintenance issues, sources said that the corporation’s annual water supply expenditure is also set to go up. It is because the corporation will have to pay ₹ 26 crore annually to the KUWS&DB for the bulk supply and operation and maintenance of the plant at Thumbe against ₹ 10 crore-₹ 12 crore spent by the corporation for the same now.
According to sources there will be no issues in paying electricity bills for power supply at the pumping station as the government would continue to pay it as being done now.
They said that the KUWS&DB was handling the city’s water supply till 1994-95. Later, it was handed over to the corporation. Sources wondered about the reasons for such a proposal when there was no issue in the water supply scheme.
Without making transparent the reasons for mooting the division in the water supply scheme clear, Minister for Urban Development U.T. Khader told The Hindu that the government is set to take a decision applicable to all city corporations in the State. It is not only restricted to Mangaluru. Brushing aside any co-ordination issues arising out of it, the Minister said that it will be up to the two government agencies to sort out issues, if any.
