New water connection norms leave many residents in lurch

House ownership certificate mandatory for JICA scheme

With ownership certificates of houses being made mandatory for water connection under the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-aided drinking water scheme, thousands of people in the city have been left in the lurch with respect to availability of drinking water.

“There are people who are unable to produce an ownership certificate due to several reasons. They are being denied drinking water for no reason,” said CPI(M) councillor Mullaveettil Moideen at a recent meeting of the Kozhikode Corporation Council.

Mr. Moideen said several houses did not even have a number as they were quite old. There were also people who lived in houses that they did not own. It was difficult for such people to procure ownership certificates, issued by local bodies, for the houses, he added.

However, Congress councillor K.C. Shobhita said people in her ward were able to procure water connection on the basis of their residence certificates and ration cards.

State petitioned

The Kozhikode Corporation has sent a petition to the State government to reconsider the clauses for providing water connection under the JICA-aided scheme.