Amid escalating water scarcity along the Ghodbunder Highway corridor, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has called on the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to immediately halt approvals for new construction projects. The party warns that without swift action, growing public frustration could reach a tipping point.
In a letter addressed to Municipal Commissioner Saurabh Rao, senior BJP corporator Manohar Dumbare from Ward 2 highlighted the worsening situation. “Almost every building in the area is struggling with an inadequate water supply, forcing residents to rely heavily on private water tankers. In several large housing complexes, monthly tanker bills run into lakhs of rupees,” he noted.
Dumbare emphasised that regular municipal water charges continue to be collected even as residents are compelled to buy water from private suppliers. “It is unfortunate that regular water charges are being collected even as residents are compelled to buy tanker water,” he said.
Currently, the TMC supplies approximately 585 million litres per day (MLD) from multiple sources to meet the needs of over 25 lakh residents, yet many areas still face irregular water distribution. Dumbare added that repeated follow-ups with civic officials yielded limited results. While the administration had promised incremental increases of 50 MLD and later 100 MLD, residents report that these assurances have failed to bring meaningful relief.
The corporator warned that the situation is worsening even before the onset of summer, with the monsoon still three months away. BJP’s letter urges the TMC to adopt a moratorium on new construction in the water-stressed zones along Ghodbunder Highway until sustainable water management measures are implemented.
The party’s intervention underscores growing concerns that unchecked urban development, combined with existing supply constraints, could exacerbate the crisis in one of Thane’s fastest-growing residential corridors.
Source: The Times of India
