Civic body out to bleed Bangalore dry

Making a mockery of the Karnataka Ground Water (Regulation and Control of Development and Management) Bill, 2011 passed by the state legislature recently, the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has prepared an action plan to combat ‘drinking water emergency’ in the city.

The action plan detailed by BBMP commissioner Siddaiah to the council on Tuesday called for the digging of 1,511 borewells in the city along with supply of drinking water through 1,676 tankers. In sharp contrast to this, the ground water bill proposes that anyone desirous of digging a borewell in the notified area must apply to the authority for a permit.

“We have devised the action plan as per the water requirements placed by the corporators from the 198 wards. But to achieve the same, we need to spend Rs92 crore,” said Siddaiah.

Although some corporators said digging more borewells was not the solution to water crisis, others felt that the city has no option but to go in for more wells to quench people’s thirst.

“Solutions like rainwater harvesting take long to yield results. People are attacking us every day and demanding water. In many wards, residents are staging sit-ins and blocking roads. We need borewells and it should be done fast,” said corporator from DJ Halli ward R Sampath Raj.  

The commissioner admitted that digging more borewells was not the solution for water crisis every summer. There is need for long-term solutions. Since the underground water levels are depleting fast, many borewells do not function.

Water board has spent more than Rs100 crore to sink 2,800 borewells in the areas newly added to the BBMP. But only about 40% of these borewells are functional.

Corporators complained there is shortage of tankers. In many areas, a lone tanker owned by the board is struggling to provide water for three wards. Siddapura ward’s corporator Udayshankar squarely blamed the board for water shortage.

“Why should we give money to the BWSSB to dig borewells or supply water through tankers? It’s their duty to provide water to citizens and the BBMP is there only to provide other infrastructure,” he said.

At a meeting held later, city mayor and councillors discussed the crisis with water board chairman PB Ramamurthy. Palike sources said the board has agreed to provide water through more tankers.

“However, there will be no charge for water supplied by the BWSSB. The BBMP has agreed to provide the tanker fee for this exercise,” said a source.

Ramamurthy said erratic power supply was one of the reasons for irregular water supply in many parts of the city.