8 months ahead of BMC polls, water politics takes centrestage

With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections barely eight months away, water politics has yet again taken the centrestage. On Friday, Shiv Sena approved a proposal to provide water to slums developed post 2000 on a humanitarian basis.

Even as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) opposed the proposal while Congress, NCP and Samajwadi Party members in the standing committee remained neutral, it was approved, though with several riders.

The riders included that the slum dwellers availing the water facilities must have voting cards, ration cards and Aadhar cards, and an undertaking by the secretary of the group for payment of bill and deposit for the water connection.

Supporting the proposal, BJP's Manoj Kotak said if the civic body could provide water to high-rise towers on a humanitarian basis, even if the building didn't have an occupancy certificate, why couldn't the BMC provide water to slums as well, and earn some revenue. "As it is, 27 per cent of water losses are unaccounted for," he said.

MNS leader Sandeep Deshpande said that while legitimate taxpayers were facing water cuts and BMC was struggling to meet the needs of the infrastructure, illegal slums were being given water, which will encourage more influx of migrants.

Congress and Samajwadi Party, too, objected to the proposal, since it had riders that made it difficult for many slum dwellers to avail the water supply facilities. "BMC has no honest approach of providing water. Otherwise, the administration would not have laid such conditions. Water is a fundamental right of citizens, and not any other amenity that the civic body can provide at per its whims and fancies," said Samajwadi Party leader Rais Shaikh.

Pravin Chheda, leader of the Opposition, said that unless the riders were removed, the proposal was of no use and will not benefit all slum dwellers.