Several Mumbai residents still depend on multiple sources of water despite getting household tap connections, according to an impact assessment report of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) "water for all" (WFA) policy. The report has been authored by Dr Sanjay Patil, research assistant at Department of Civics and Politics of Mumbai University along with PhD scholars at the department, Ankita Bhatkhande and Ravindra Swami. The report was prepared for the MU as well as Haq Samiti, an NGO working towards uniform accessible water in Mumbai. The report was prepared after surveying over 200 residents from seven different areas in Mumbai — Ambojwadi - Malad, Ganpat Patil Nagar - Borivali, Kokari Nagar - Wadala, Bhim Nagar - Mankhurd, Mandala - Mankhurd, Gautam Nagar and Unit number 32 at Aarey Colony (Goregaon). Almost all the seven locations predominantly comprises population living in slums which are the primary beneficiaries of the civic body’s WFA policy. According to the report's findings, of the 202 surveyed respondents, 159 have received direct water lines from BMC under the WFA policy. However, the survey shows that 83 respondents are still dependent on wells, 59 are dependent on borewells and 52 are dependent on water tankers. “These figures shows that even though the BMC has started supplying water, the residents are still dependent on alternate sources mainly because the supply is not very uniform. For example, in Ambojwadi the pressure on which water is supplied to the tap is very low, therefore, for families with a large number of members may not get the adequate quota of water as the supply comes within a given timeline only,” co-author of the report Bhatkhande told The Indian Express. According to the BMC’s data, more than 15,000 residents have received connection under its WFA policy. In 2022, the BMC announced its WFA under which the civic authorities will install conventional tap water systems in all the slum pockets in Mumbai that did not have a direct water connection. Prior to the implementation of the policy, the residents would be dependent on wells, tankers and alternate sources for their daily usage. These sources would often affect the health of the residents. The survey report also maintained that 67.8 per cent of the total respondents often suffered from skin rashes before the authorities gave them water supply, 53.5 per cent of the residents suffered from stomach-related health issues and 21.8 per cent of the residents suffered from Urinary tract infections (UTI). The survey report also highlighted that 73.3 per cent of the respondents are women. According to the report, six per cent of the total respondents spent an average of over Rs 2,000 monthly for buying water before the civic authorities implemented the WFA policy. Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar said that besides providing potable water to citizens, WFA policy has helped In generating revenue for the civic authorities. “The objective of the policy is to map the entire quota of supply that is being distributed. Earlier a large quantity of water would get wasted or stolen by the mafias. After the policy came into force, this quota of water is being routed to slums for residents use, in a way the policy has helped us (BMC) to generate revenue by giving the water supply and our target is to augment the number of connections in the days to come,” said Bangar.
