Mumbai’s water tanker services have been suspended indefinitely after the Mumbai Water Tanker Association protested civic notices served to private well owners. The BMC's new rules have made operations difficult, say operators, who demand urgent government intervention
The MWTA has announced their strike on April 10. Pic/Shadab Khan
The Mumbai Water Tanker Association (MWTA) has suspended its operations indefinitely across the city in protest against a spate of notices issued by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to owners of private wells from which the tankers draw water, PTI reports.
According to PTI, the association, which operates approximately 1,800 registered tankers with capacities ranging from 500 to 20,000 litres supplies nearly 350 million litres per day (MLD) to residential and commercial zones across Mumbai, including the affluent areas of South Mumbai. However, from Thursday, the entire fleet has gone off the roads.
MWTA spokesperson Ankur Sharma told PTI that the shutdown was prompted by a slew of new regulatory requirements imposed on private well owners by the BMC. The new directives mandate each well owner to possess proof of lease or ownership of a 200 square metre land parcel, install digital water flow metres, comply with BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) norms, provide precise data on daily water extraction, and crucially obtain a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Central Ground Water Authority (CGWA).
“These rules are simply not feasible to follow in a densely populated and space-crunched city like Mumbai,” Sharma said, adding, “We have written to the Chief Minister’s Office and other relevant authorities, but our grievances have gone unaddressed. Unless the government offers relaxations, we will not resume supply.”
As per PTI, Mumbai’s suburban district guardian minister Ashish Shelar had also raised concerns on behalf of the tanker operators. In a letter to the Jal Shakti Ministry, he urged that action not be taken against private well owners. Despite his intervention, PTI reports that notices from the BMC have continued to be served.
“This is not just a business shutdown, this is the collapse of a vital lifeline for many in the city,” Sharma said. “We have no choice but to suspend operations until there is a resolution.”
The indefinite strike is expected to disrupt water availability in several parts of the metropolis, particularly in areas that rely heavily on tanker deliveries to meet daily requirements.
(With inputs from PTI)
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