The Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has decided to suspend its campaign to cut off water supply to housing societies following concerns raised by residents over the potential disruption. The civic body had earlier issued warnings to forty-one societies, threatening to disconnect water supply starting on December 11 due to non-functional sewage treatment plants (STPs).
At the time of the handover, numerous housing societies had reported that builders had not provided them with operational STPs. According to the chairperson of one residential society, PCMC representatives arrived to shut off the water supply, citing a damaged panel in the STP plant as the reason for its non-functionality. The society requested additional time from municipal officials to make the STP operational while MSEDCL personnel worked on repairs. Despite having received the PCMC completion certificate, only two out of the four wings in the project had STPs provided by the builder.
Out of the 335 residential complexes under PCMC jurisdiction, nearly 80 housing societies possessed non-functional STPs. Many of these societies had activated their STPs in response to PCMC’s initial notice earlier this year. As of now, only 41 societies are listed as defaulters.
According to a senior PCMC official, only five of the 41 societies reported that the project builder had provided them with non-functional STPs. Consequently, the civic body has paused action against these five societies and is sending notices to the relevant builders, awaiting responses from both builders and residents. Several societies have requested more time, leading to the decision to halt the action for a period of eight to ten days. Action will resume after the extended period expires.
