Society pulled up for selling water

While the city faces 30% water cut after Diwali, a society in Prabhadevi is selling water from a ring well dug in its premises. Manoj Co-operative Housing Society in G (North) ward makes Rs10,000 a month by selling non-potable water to tankers.

The BMC’s insecticide department had issued its first notice on August 31 asking the society to close down the well, fill it up with good earth and dismantle the pipe connections. On October 8, the civic medical officer issued a notice for selling water without permission and damaging the roads due to parking of tankers. “We issued notices as water from the ring well was being sold. The society can use the water, but cannot sell it. We have not given any permission to sell water,” said a civic official.

When a well is dug in a housing society, it has to be certified my the BMC and an NOC should be issued by the pest control officer. The society secretary Madan Navalkar is oblivious to the section 394 of the BMC Act which states that licences must be procured for selling of water.

“The BMC had advertised for digging of wells during the water crisis. So they shouldn’t object to this. We are saving 35% of chlorinated water. We had dug the well last year. BMC just wants to extract money from us,” he said.