Indore Municipal Corporation will seize motors fitted to household taps and act against illegal occupation of government borewells as part of a city-wide drive to reduce water wastage and prepare for a possible summer water crisis. The measures were decided at a high-level meeting held at the corporation headquarters under Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava on Monday.
The civic body plans to first warn residents who draw water through motors fitted to taps. If they continue using the equipment, the motors will be seized, officials said. The move is intended to address uneven water distribution and prevent residents from using mechanical pressure to draw more water from the municipal supply than is available through ordinary taps.
The corporation will also conduct a door-to-door awareness campaign with the assistance of non-governmental organisations. Residents will be advised to ensure that taps are fitted with spouts so that water does not flow unnecessarily. The campaign will also discourage the use of drinking water for washing vehicles and other purposes.
Officials said residents who continue violating the rules after being counselled three or four times will face challan action. The proposed sequence of counselling, warning and enforcement indicates that the civic body will combine public outreach with penalties rather than begin with immediate fines in every case.
The meeting also focused on government borewells that have allegedly been occupied illegally. The corporation will identify such locations and take steps to vacate them. It will examine whether supply lines can be laid from these borewells to provide water to more households, although the report did not specify the number of borewells involved, the areas they serve or a timeline for laying the proposed lines.
Areas that repeatedly face water shortages will be mapped separately and given individual action plans. This will allow the corporation to distinguish recurring supply-stressed neighbourhoods from broader conservation measures, though details of the proposed plans were not released.
As part of the public-access measures, the civic body will identify sites for at least one water kiosk, or pyau, in each of Indore’s 85 wards. It will also mark locations for new hydrants around the city’s ponds. The proposed kiosks are intended to improve access to drinking water, while the hydrants would add water points around urban water bodies.
The meeting additionally directed officials to complete the city’s cleaning before Diwali. The corporation has not provided a consolidated implementation schedule for the enforcement drive, borewell action, ward-level kiosks or pond hydrants. Further details will be required to assess how the measures will be implemented across the city and how repeatedly water-stressed areas will be prioritised.
