The Panvel water crisis has prompted the Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) to stop providing potable water connections to under-construction sites, affecting more than 100 building projects across its jurisdiction. The civic body is also expected to decide on water cuts within a week as it responds to worsening scarcity.
The decision applies to construction sites in areas covered by the erstwhile Panvel Municipal Council as well as villages within the PCMC jurisdiction. These sites will not be permitted to receive new potable water supply connections and will have to arrange their own water requirements, according to the civic body.
PCMC executive engineer for water supply Vilas Chavan said potable water connections had earlier been provided to construction sites. The practice has now been stopped because of the water shortage. His statement, reported by the Times of India, establishes that the restriction is a direct response to the current supply situation rather than a routine change in construction permissions.
The restriction does not apply in the same way to buildings seeking occupancy certificates. PCMC will provide water supply to such buildings, indicating that the civic body is distinguishing between sites still under construction and completed or nearly completed buildings moving towards formal occupation. The report does not specify the volume of water available to these buildings or the conditions attached to those connections.
For active construction sites, the immediate operational effect is that developers and contractors will need to make separate arrangements for water used during construction. The source report does not identify the permitted alternatives, their cost, or whether PCMC has issued a separate protocol governing the sourcing, transport or quality of non-municipal water. Those details will determine how the decision affects individual projects beyond the loss of a potable connection.
The order also places water availability at the centre of ongoing construction activity in a rapidly developing municipal area. A restriction covering more than 100 sites can affect construction schedules and site operations, although the report does not state whether any project has already reported a delay. It also leaves open questions about how the civic body will monitor private water arrangements and ensure that water meant for construction is not drawn from stressed public supplies.
PCMC has said further water-cut measures will be announced soon in the areas where it supplies water. A decision on those measures is expected within a week. Until then, the municipal corporation’s immediate step is to withhold potable water connections from under-construction sites while continuing supply to buildings seeking occupancy certificates.
