Water tankers to go off Mumbai roads from June 8; association protests ‘selective enforcement’ of groundwater rules

Mumbai: Even as the city is facing a 10% water cut, the Mumbai Water Tanker Association (MWTA) has warned that all tanker operators across Mumbai will take their vehicles off the roads and suspend water transportation services throughout Mumbai from 12 am on June 8 until further notice, in view of “harsh and selective” implementation of Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA) rules exclusively in the city and notices issued to well operators and water suppliers.This, according to the association, has affected water tanker operators, well owners, ring well owners, borewell operators and water suppliers. Notices are being issued by revenue authorities and BMC to the well owners regarding licences, and power supply of some well owners has been disconnected, it said.The association has sought a meeting and intervention from the chief minister.Meanwhile, some, like the Garware Club House, will shut their spa and swimming pool from Sunday in view of the ongoing water shortage and reduced supply from tanker vendors.The association has more than 2,000 tankers and supplies non-potable water to a wide variety of govt agencies, infrastructure projects, commercial establishments and housing societies. MWTA spokesperson Ankur Sharma said CGWA norms are being implemented only in Mumbai, not even in the rest of MMR or across the state. Besides, the CGWA NOC is required only for extraction of potable groundwater and not for non-potable water. “Show-cause notices have been issued by revenue authorities to around five members. We supply a total of around 550 MLD of water across the city through the water tankers. We don’t own the wells, and our role is limited to transporting the water extracted. Potable water is supplied only during a BMC water pipeline burst, and the maximum of our supply is non-potable. The authorities have threatened to confiscate our vehicles,” said Sharma.The notice issued to some of the water suppliers cites the public notice issued by CGWA directing all the existing groundwater users to apply for an NOC for groundwater withdrawal and seeks an explanation as to why their groundwater abstraction structures — dug well, borewell, tube well, dewatering structure — should not be sealed for illegal withdrawal of groundwater. According to the association, notices have been issued to as many as 250 well operators over the last week.The association has pointed out that the CGWA guidelines mandate that a licence will be issued to a well owner only if the well is situated on a land parcel having a minimum size of 200 square metres, which is impractical in a city like Mumbai.Last year, too, the civic body had issued notices directing the well owners to seek NOC from the CGWA.