Nashik: City Faces 40% Water Loss Due to Leaks and Theft; NMC to Launch Drive Against Unauthorized Connections

While Nashik is grappling with an irregular water supply, a shocking revelation has come to light: a whopping 40% of the water is being wasted due to leakage. The problem is further aggravated by widespread water theft. To tackle this issue, the municipal corporation is gearing up to launch a drive to identify unauthorised water connections. This drive will involve a thorough inspection of the size of water connections and whether water is being pumped out using motors.

The city's water needs are met by the Gangapur dam. Despite having over 2 lakh water connections, the city is facing a severe water loss of around 40%. The discrepancy between the water released by the municipal corporation and the number of official connections indicates the extent of the problem. To address this, the corporation has decided to rope in a private agency to conduct a survey.

Water tax collection getting impacted

Due to a shortage of manpower in the revenue collection department, property tax and water tax collection has been less than optimal. To improve this, the municipal corporation has decided to outsource the bill distribution system. After receiving a positive response from a committee formed to boost revenue, the water supply department and the property department will work together to distribute bills, identify unauthorised connections, and inspect their sizes.

Through outsourcing, the names, addresses, two mobile numbers, and email IDs of all properties in the city will be collected. This comprehensive database will be shared with various revenue departments. Similar to the way electricity bills are distributed by the electricity distribution company, property tax and water bills will also be distributed through outsourcing. As part of this survey, water connections will be inspected.