Will new ‘Water for All’ policy make a difference in slums?

Slum dwellers wait in queue to get water from water tankers

Water woes in city slums will likely continue even as the BMC is set to roll out the ‘Water for All' policy from May 1, as the condition of an existing drainage system will pose a hurdle, say residents. They added that the policy exists since 2016 following a high court order, but only a handful of slum dwellers have actually received the connection.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had first sanctioned the ‘water for all' policy in 2016 following a December 2014 order of the Bombay High Court which stated that water supply is a fundamental right irrespective of whether the house was legal or illegal. However, the BMC policy put several terms for the implementation of the policy which includes the structures having an existing drainage system. After failing to secure the connection even after years, residents and activists are wary of the new policy and its implementation.

"We have been trying to get water connection for years. The BMC even completed a survey and laid a mail line in 2019, but the connection did not materialise citing unavailability of drains," said Jay Mati, a resident of Siddharth Nagar slum in Versova which has around 850 houses. Mati added that the residents get water tankers once in two or three days and have to shell out R40 for a bucket of water. Those who work as house help get drinking water from their workplaces while children do odd jobs at neighbouring buildings to get water.

Dattatray Padyal from Kokri Agar transit camp in Pratiksha Nagar said, "There are around 3,600 families in our slum. After several follow-ups, the BMC laid two connections for the entire slum, but the pressure is very low and it takes almost half an hour to fill up a bucket. There are some who have paid a lot of money for illegal connections. If we get water legally, we will not have to pay such large sums any more."

Sitaram Shelar, activist and founder of Pani Haq Samiti, said, "There are around 150 slums with around 20 lakh residents who don't have water connection. Some buy water from tankers or neighbouring buildings, while some get illegal connections. The BMC already had the policy on paper but due to the strict rules it was never implemented." He said that they have been demanding that the condition to have an existing drain network and licensed plumbers be removed, and one connection for a group of five families instead of 15. Additional Commissioner P Velarasu did not comment on the issue.

1 May
Day the policy is set to be implemented