Hyderabad’s Green Tankers initiative will begin in the core urban region from November 1, with treated water to be supplied on demand for construction, landscaping, cleaning and other non-drinking uses, Telangana Chief Secretary Sanjay Jaju said after reviewing the city’s drinking-water situation.
The initiative is part of a broader set of measures aimed at protecting drinking-water availability while reducing pressure on freshwater and groundwater resources. Jaju directed government departments to use treated water instead of potable water for activities that do not require drinking-quality supplies.
The Chief Secretary also instructed officials to regularly verify the quality of treated water supplied by Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs). The checks are intended to ensure that the water being transported for non-potable uses meets prescribed standards before it is supplied to consumers.
The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) has been asked to submit a daily report detailing the quantity of treated water transported and supplied. The figures will be reported in million gallons per day (MGD), giving the administration a daily measure of how much treated water is being diverted to non-drinking purposes.
HMWSSB Managing Director Ashok Reddy briefed the meeting on the board’s contingency plan for maintaining drinking-water availability. He said the additional 40 MGD scheme under Mission Bhagiratha would be completed by November 15. Mission Bhagiratha will also continue bulk water supply to all Urban Local Bodies merged with municipal corporations until August next year, according to the details presented at the meeting.
The Water Board will supply treated water through Green Tankers on demand, along the lines of its existing drinking-water tanker service. The facility is also planned to be made available through a dedicated mobile application, allowing consumers to request treated water through a digital platform. The supplied material does not specify the application’s launch date, tariff, service area or tanker capacity.
The move separates drinking-water supply from several high-volume urban activities that can use treated water, including construction-site operations, landscaping and cleaning. It also creates a reporting requirement around the quantity of treated water supplied, while placing responsibility on officials to check the quality of water produced by STPs.
Reddy said the Save Water Campaign was seeking to reduce water consumption by 20 per cent across individuals, institutions and industries through awareness and conservation measures. The campaign is being presented alongside the Green Tankers initiative and the additional Mission Bhagiratha supply as part of the administration’s water-security response.
The immediate milestones are the November 1 start of Green Tanker operations, the November 15 target for completion of the additional 40 MGD scheme and the continuation of Mission Bhagiratha bulk supply to merged urban local bodies until August next year.
