Water Panel Chief Pulls Up OCW Over Inflated Bills & Complaints

Nagpur: A week after the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) general body issued a 15-day ultimatum to Orange City Water (OCW) Pvt Ltd, Water Works Committee chairperson Divya Dhurde on Wednesday directed OCW officials to immediately resolve complaints related to water supply, billing, and quality.During the first meeting of the NMC general body, several corporators expressed anger over irregular supply, high bills, and polluted water being supplied in many areas. Even before the special general body meeting could be convened, Dhurde held a separate review meeting to initiate corrective measures.Dhurde directed OCW officials to treat all complaints from citizens as priority cases and ensure they are resolved without delay. She also asked the company to submit a detailed status report on complaints received from different zones and improve coordination with the water works department.Complaints related to faulty meters and inflated bills were also discussed in detail. Dhurde directed OCW to correct bills with five-fold increase to earlier levels wherever errors are found and immediately replace water meters that are over five years old or not functioning properly. She said citizens should not be burdened due to technical faults or delays in repairs.The chairperson said the city has sufficient water storage this summer and ruled out the possibility of a major crisis. She said the NMC currently pumps around 735 MLD of water from the Pench reservoir and the Kanhan river, but billing is being done for only about 521 MLD. Officials were instructed to identify the gap and plug leakages and losses in the distribution system on priority.The committee also reviewed the overall preparedness of the department ahead of summer. Officials informed members that water is supplied through 109 overhead tanks and that the city receives water from multiple sources, including the Pench project, Kanhan river, Navegaon Khairi, and Gorewada lake. Dhurde also reviewed the works carried out between 2022 and 2025 and sought details on the present status of the 24x7 water supply project, which has been facing repeated complaints. She instructed officials to repair non-functional borewells, clean and desilt public wells, and encourage citizens to adopt rainwater harvesting to reduce pressure on main water supply during summer.Deputy chairperson Vijay Zalke suggested installing flow meters on major pipelines to prevent water wastage and detect leakages. Members also demanded strict action against illegal water connections taken by lawns, marriage halls, and private water suppliers. Corporators further asked officials to set up special grievance cells in every zone to resolve complaints related to increased bills and ensure proper restoration of roads after laying pipelines. Dhurde said the body will closely monitor OCW's performance over next 2 weeks and warned of strict action, if complaints remain unresolved.