A fat water bill to pay,VMC plugs into Narmada canal by stealth

The reservoir,at its maximum level of 212 feet,can hold 1,857 million cubic feet of water.

A visit to Ajwa lake and the surrounding villages by The Indian Express team revealed that water from Narmada canal was being directed to Ajwa lake,situated within a distance of one kilometre.

For the last three days,the Narmada canal escape channel in Rampura village has been opened to draw water into the lake,locals said.

Officials of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL),however,said they were not aware of the development. “We have received no intimation from the VMC regarding the diversion of water to Ajwa lake,” said P M Patel,chief engineer at the SSSNL office in Vadodara.

An VMC official,however,admitted that Narmada water was being drawn into the lake. “If monsoon is delayed,water level in Ajwa lake will fall,leading to shortage of drinking water supply in the city. The VMC cannot afford to foot the bill of Rs 6-per-cubic-metre of Narmada water. So,at the local level,we are relying on indirect supply from Narmada canal,” a civic official said.

Ajwa lake accounts for around 30% of nearly 8 crore liters of water the corporation supplies to the city daily. The rest 70% of the required water is drawn from French wells located at Raika,Dodka,Poich and Fajalpur around the city,besides from tubewells.

The corporation earns around Rs 30 crore annually from water supply in the city.

Officially,the VMC denies it is drawing Narmada water. “There is no point approaching SSNNL for water since it does not generally have additional water for supply to the city. But we are observing water level in Ajwa lake. Sometimes,Narmada canal water is drawn into Ajwa lake for maintenance,” Shailesh Mistry,city engineer with the VMC,said.

Congress corporator Chirag Zaveri said the state government should allow Narmada canal water into Ajwa lake since the city was facing water shortage.

Meanwhile,the corporation is reeling under a hefty bill from the state government for water drawn from Panam reservoir in the Panchmahals. As per municipal officials,VMC has to pay an accumulated dues of Rs 648 crore for the water it had drawn from the reservoir.