Water Mafia of Mumbai  #06: The Factsheet

Vivek Agrawal

Mumbai, 20 August 2019

About 1700 tankers daily supply water in Mumbai.

Tanker Association angry with the continuous action of BMC.

Tanker Association creates pressure by going on strike.

The Numbers

Number of municipal tankers in Mumbai > 9 thousand 181

Number of private tankers > 39 thousand 999

Daily water supply to Mumbai > 3,800 million liters

Water wasted > 900 million liters

Actual water supply > 2,900 million

Water rates of brokers

1000 liters of water > 500 to 700 rupees

1 liter of water > 1 rupees

Municipal Water Rate

1000 liters of water > Rs.5

CRIME DATA:

Business Size > 10,000 Crores/annum estimated

Nexus > BMC Staff, Police Officials, Politicians across the party lines and water mafia.

Bribe > 25,000 to 50,000 as per area / month

BMC Loss > Around Rs 1,800 to 3,000/day/tanker (@Rs 600 per bill and each tanker takes 3 to 5 rounds/day)

Areas of business > Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Thane, Palghar, Raigad Districts.

Price Difference > A tanker of water cost in Mumbai is about 52 times the price of piped water, says a study by the World Resources Institute.

WHO OWNS TANKERS

• Leaders Of Political Parties
• Local Goons And Mafia
• Police Officer-Employee
• RTO Officer- Staff
• Builder, Industrialist, Factory Owner
• Tanker Owners

BIG DATA OF BIZ

• Rs 80 crores water stolen by tanker operators from single borewell in Mumbai in a year.
• Mumbai has 19,000 wells out of which 12,500 are borewells.
• It means that more than Rs 10,000 crore water theft happened in Mumbai.

EARNING:

• Rs. 4,500 to 6,000 potable water tanker 10000 Lt. size + Rs 600/ bill
• Rs. 2600 to 3500 non-potable water tanker 10000 Lt. size + Rs 600/ bill
• Rs. 300 to 500 potable water tanker 500 Lt. size + Rs 100/ bill

Modus Operandi of Water Tanker Mafia

1. Bursting of water pipeline cause chaos for at least 3 to 7 days.
2. Bribing BMC employee, ‘the Valve-Man’ who open the valve of the supply pipe Rs. 1,000 to 2,000/day for a short time or only open it half, due to which less water will go to the area, forcing everyone to call tankers.
3. Bribing 200 to 400 rupees per day manager or guard of building for half opening or not opening the valve late in the underground tanks. Forced to buy at least two tankers for a society.
4. Bribing society management for tanker supply.

HOTSPOTS of Water Theft:

1. Chandivali, Powai
2. Film City, Goregaon
3. MIC Colony, Borivali West
4. Grant Road
5. Cuff Parade Slums, South Mumbai
6. Malvani, Malad

PROBLEMS CREATED BY MAFIA

1. Water theft: Huge loss to BMC tax
2. Accidents: (1) People killed (2) Property / Vehicles damage
3. Threats & attacks on whistleblowers
4. Corruption & Bribe

SOURCE OF WATER THEFT

1. BMC Wells, tube wells & water bodies
2. Private wells and tube wells
3. Rivers
4. Dams / stop dams
5. Lakes
6. Ponds
7. Mines

BENEFICIARIES OF STOLEN WATER

1. Builder
2. Hotelier
3. Restaurant owner
4. Industries and factories
5. Shopping malls
6. Illegal washing centers drain vehicles of lakhs of liters of water every day.
7. Hostels
8. Slum dwellers
9. Expensive apartment residents
10. Building Societies

IS THERE REALLY WATER SCARCITY?

• Technically, there needn’t be any difference in water supply between people of different classes, because Mumbai gets enough water for distribution.
• The water volume coming into the city is 3,850 MLD. If we divide it by the estimated population of 128.7 crores), each resident would get 299 liters of water/day.
• This is more than cities like London, Singapore and Paris receive.
• If we exclude the volume lost to leaks and theft (40% as of 2021), the quantity drops to 178 LPCD, which is more then sufficient.

OTHER DATA:

• BMC diverts over 4000 million liters of water a day to the city from lakes as far as 163 km away
• The costs to BMC for treated, storage, pumping up to reach homes is Rs 19.44 for every 1,000 liters.
• BMC’s differing rates for consumers for residences is Rs 5.94 per kiloliter @ 150 liters per capita per day
• Slums hutments or others pay Rs 4.44 per kiloliter to tanker mafia.
• In 2014, a Bombay High Court judgement says that under Article 21 of the Constitution, the right to life was incomplete without the right to water. HC directed BMC to amend its policy and provide water to all, regardless of the legality of residence. Despite this, an estimated 20 Lakhs people are denied legal access to water.
• Administrative and political hurdles continue to derail the now notified slums for the benefits of Tanker Mafia.
• NGO Pani Haq Samiti (PHS) is fighting for access to water, has filled 1,200 applications on behalf of 6,000+ families since 2017. Only 96 have been successful till 2021.

CONCERNS:

• Tanker mafia sells contaminated water stored in ponds and mines.
• In the societies where this water is supplied, it causes itching in the body after bathing.
• Water is not fit for drinking, if drunk without boiling causes diseases.

END

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