The civic body has issued notices to 200 sites’ developers seeking explanation as to why work should not be stopped as they were not using sewage treatment plants’ water for construction activities.
According to data, a total of 326 construction projects are underway in PMC areas and 128 of them are using STP (sewage treatment plant) water. The remaining 208 are not using it. So, notices have been issued to them.
“The decision to provide STP water was taken to save potable water in view of probable water shortage and delayed monsoon,” said Vikram Kumar, the administrator of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
The civic data shows nearly 240 tankers are used for construction works daily. Of them, only 70 carry STP-treated water.
A PMC official said a dedicated cellphone application had been developed for transportation and management of tankers carrying treated water.
Developers and other commercial establishments can use the app titled, “PMC STP Tanker System”, to get STP water. “The details of registrations on this app is used to calculate the demand and supply of STP water,” the official said.
In January 2022, PMC had passed an order making the use of treated water for activities like concrete mixing and curing buildings mandatory in the city limits. This was done in a bid to save about 100 MLD water. At the time of this announcement, civic activist were enthusiastic about the idea but raised doubts regarding its implementation.
According to PMC officials, the civic administration is now contemplating on making the use of STP water mandatory for grounds, golf courses and other sports facilities. At present, around 5 lakh litres of treated water is used for various activities. PMC aims to increase its use to up to 20 lakh litres against the backdrop of water shortage and inadequate rainfall so far this year.
“The civic administration has started once-a-week water cuts. We have taken a wait and watch stand as far as the water supply is concerned. The rainfall situation would be studied until June-end. The decision on increasing the cuts or not would hinge on the rainfall,” said Aniruddha Pawaskar, head of PMC’s water supply department.