Indore’s Mayor-in-Council has approved a new water policy that will impose escalating fines on residents who waste water or use motor pumps on tap connections, while the civic body plans new tubewells, additional tankers and a special drive to regularise unauthorised connections.
The policy, approved unanimously at a meeting chaired by Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargava, sets a penalty of Rs 2,000 for a first offence of water wastage, Rs 5,000 for a second offence and Rs 10,000 for a third and every subsequent offence. Using a motor pump on a tap connection will attract a fine of Rs 5,000 for the first violation and Rs 10,000 for the second and later violations, according to an official release cited by the Times of India.
Bhargava said the aim was to ensure that the Indore Municipal Corporation would not need to take punitive action. He appealed to residents to treat water conservation as a shared responsibility. The corporation will also conduct public awareness campaigns alongside enforcement.
The policy links penalties with a wider plan to reduce pressure on Indore’s water system. Its stated objectives include conserving water, recharging groundwater through rainwater harvesting, treating and reusing wastewater, reducing dependence on external sources and protecting lakes, ponds and other natural water bodies. It also seeks to establish clearer accountability in water management and increase citizen participation.
The civic body cited the possibility of a water shortage next summer because of deficient rainfall while approving measures to strengthen drinking water supply. It plans to drill 300 new tubewells and install motor pumps on 100 tubewells, including higher-head pumps where required.
The corporation will also procure 11 electric-vehicle truck tankers with a stated capacity of 300 litres and 22 compressed natural gas truck tankers with an 8,000-litre capacity. The tankers are intended to ensure water reaches households when regular supply is inadequate. Agencies operating hired tankers will be required to repair leaks within seven days or face penalties.
Residents with unauthorised tap connections will receive a 21-day opportunity to regularise them. The special drive is scheduled to run continuously from November 12. The policy announcement did not specify the regularisation fee or the enforcement mechanism that will follow the drive.
The Mayor-in-Council also approved annual maintenance tenders for tubewells, handpumps, hydrants, fountains and other water-supply assets across all 22 municipal zones. These measures place the immediate focus on expanding supply and maintaining existing assets, while the policy’s longer-term goals depend on groundwater recharge, wastewater reuse and reduced wastage.
Other decisions taken at the meeting included the regularisation of more than 1,800 corporation employees in compliance with a Supreme Court order, contractual appointments for more than 3,000 sanitation worker posts, road and storm-water infrastructure works, and a tender for a multi-sports and recreational facility beneath the Keshar Bagh flyover under a public-private partnership model. The water policy’s next implementation steps are the start of the connection-regularisation drive and the planned procurement and maintenance work.
