Mumbai, April 25: More than a year ago, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Cooperation (BMC) had roped in Sachin Tendulkar for its much-discussed “save water campaign” in Mumbai. As part of the campaign, the master blaster had shot for a short advertisement campaign that showed him exhort Mumbaikars use bucket instead of a shower for taking bath. He also claimed that he had already switched over to the bucket for bathing in the wake of severe water cuts faced by the city then. But is the corporation applying the campaign only to ordinary Mumbaikars while the elite get as much water as they need?
The lay Mumbaikars has no other go but to contend with water cuts which range anywhere between 15 and 30 per cent.
Though not much has changed since the advertisement first appeared, how one can explain the disturbing facts vis-à-vis large volumes of water being supplied to industrialist Mukesh Ambani-owned Antilia building, that activist Anil Galgali has received from the BMC, in response to an RTI query raised by him? The multi-storied Antilia building is located on a 4,532 square metres plot on Altmount Road in south Mumbai.
According to the BMC’s replies to Galgali’s RTI queries, the Antilia building, located in civic body’s “D” ward is currently receiving 2,430 litres per day for domestic/residential use and 15,800 litres as commercial supply from the BMC per day, collectively adding to 18,230 liters per day.
The reply dated March 30,2011, received by Galgali a few days ago, also reveals that the BMC has been supplying on an average been receiving 17,384 litres of water per day to the Antilia building.
Curiously enough, the BMC has raised a bill for January/February on March 18, 2011, the BMC mentions that the bill has in all used 4,72,000 litres of water (472 kilo litres), of which volumes of water supplied for residential purpose inclusive of sewage charges were billed as `410, whereas the commercial supply inclusive of sewage charges was billed as Rs 15,960, which the Antilia building has already paid to the BMC.
According to the BMC’s reply, the civic body charges Rs 3.50 per litre of water for domestic use, Rs 25 per litre for commercial use and additional 60 per cent amount is charged as per-litre sewage disposal charges.
The Pioneer is in the possession of both the reply given by the BMC to Galgali and that the two bills that the latter obtained from the civic body.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, Galgali alleged, “It can be seen from the documents obtained by me from the BMC through the RTI queries that the civic administration is showing undue favor towards the noted industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s family while neglecting the needs of the normal citizens of the Greater Mumbai. The issue should be seen in view of the fact that during the past 6 months, Mumbai residents have been taking out morchas to the BMC headquarters and almost all civic ward offices in Mumbai and almost every second day and every other civic corporator has been regularly raising the water shortage issue at the BMC general meetings. Apart from handing out assurances to the people, the civic administration has not done much to address the water shortage in the city.
Charging that the BMC was showing “disparity” while considering the volume of water to be supplied to the newly constructed buildings like the one belonging to prominent person like Ambani, Galgali said: “Though the BMC has the policy of calculating water supply to a particular building on the basis of per person which the BMC authorities have been informing the public from time to time, it is surprising as to how has the civic body calculated the volume of water supplied to Ambani’s residence,” Galgali said.
Galgali, who had through RTI queries in the past elicited sensational information relating to some other prominent personalities including current Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan and Chief Secretary Ratnakar Gaikwad, urged the BMC authorities to inquire similarly into the water supply status of other prominent persons and remove the disparity in the supply status and bring a uniform policy regarding the quantum of water supply to the residents of Mumbai.
——–Agencies