Can Delhi free water plan be replicated in Hyderabad?

Is Delhi model free water possible in Hyderabad?

Apartment culture and influx of population in Hyderabad owing to the growth in IT and Real Estate sectors drained whatever natural resources the city had. Having drinking water supply from PWD has become a luxury and many started depending on water cans provided by various companies. While most of the parts in the city get water supply every alternate days, residents in some areas get water supply once in a week or fortnight. Some areas don't have proper water connections. To the top of it even the water that is supplied is completely contaminated making it unusable for daily chores.

Come summer it is a curse to the residents of twin cities. With uneven distribution of water and no proper timings, people try to find some solace by ordering tankers. However even that luxury is robbed from them as the influential tanker mafia make money thriving on the plight of the residents. Extreme power cuts and water shortage in reservoirs increase the miseries of the residents. More than the water shortage what worries the residents is the water mafia who rob them of their right share.

Though water board top officials claim that they will curb water mafia menace, no one takes them seriously as they keep on repeating the same words year after year. Each family in many locations claim to be spending over 6k for water itself but no solution is in sight. Many residents who depend on ground water are at the mercy of private water tankers who have strong political connections. For many people around Bandlaguda in Chandayangutta pipe water is still a dream. To cash in to their woes many illegal water plants came into existence. They don't have proper license but their only aim is to make money at the expense of peoples health.

Simmering summer, water tanker mafia affect not only common people but also politicians. MIM President Owaisi after stalling a tanker getting diverted to other areas thundered “It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that people get clean drinking water at their homes, therefore action has been initiated against the illegal hydrants,” .The situation is no different else where in the country and when Aam Aadmi Party after coming to power in Delhi took a decision providing free water upto 700 litres, many are stunned how that was made possible. They started wondering whether Hyderabadis too can have such luxury of free water.

While some say Delhi model is possible in Hyderabad which will solve water problems some say it is quite difficult to make this populistic measure successful. Right after Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal made it possible, AP govt announced that it is conducting feasibility study over providing free water to the residents. Some say if Govt uproots corruption in the board then it is possible in Hyderabad too. A resident says “If the government arrests leakages at various places, it is quite possible. But the present state and central governments do not seem to have the urge to serve the people, but only to grab power by hook or crook,”. Another supports saying “There is no dearth of clean water resources and the government should concentrate on water conservation and rain water harvesting,”

But experts are skeptical about those moves. They say “It’s about time we put a cap on these ‘freebies’ offered to VIPs and focus on easing the burden of the common man,”. Some blast the Hyderabad Metro water works saying “The water board does not even supply potable water and yet squeezes the aam aadmi through higher water bills,”. Some vent anger at the board saying “Water is our basic need. The board should really show some mercy and make it free now,”. But water works officials say “We are faced with a 40% loss. Also, unlike Delhi we get no central funds. How can we even think of offering free water?”.

At present though Hyderabad, has a water supply of 340 million gallons per day (mgd), but its 6.70 lakh ordinary consumers are forced to make do with just about 140 mgd. The rest is used illegally with or without the connivance of the top officials or influential people. In a shocker it was found out that a good 38 mgd of water alone (or 27% of the total 140 mgd) goes into the plush bungalows of bureaucrats living across Punjagutta, Kundanbagh and Banjara Hills. Worse, in times of ‘crisis’ the Hyderabad Water Board (HMWS&SB) even dashes off a fleet of free water tankers to quench the thirst of these high-profile residents. In a startling revelation Hyd household that consumes 10 KL of water ends up paying three times more in water bills than a similar Delhi household.