Water, by hook or crook

With water crisis looming large over the city, residents of Chennai, especially in suburbs and areas not covered by Metro Water, would be forced to depend on private water tanker lorries to a great extent to meet their daily water needs. However, private water tankers continue to operate in a largely illegal manner flouting all guidelines regarding extraction of ground water. 

According to Chennai Private Water Tanker Owners Association, there are at least 15,000 private water tankers plying in the city and suburbs. Of this, 75 per cent of the lorries have a capacity of loading 20,000 litres of water while the remaining lorries have a capacity of 12,000 litres. These private water tanker lorries draw water from agricultural bore wells surrounding the city, depending on the demand and their extraction of water remains unmonitored. “We are supplying water to different categories of residents. Some of the residents regularly buy water from us. However, we mainly supply water to the big commercial establishments, industries, hotels and institutions,” said A Palanisamy, owner of a private tanker in Pallavaram. 

“We supply to marriage halls too.” Unlike Metro Water, these private operators usually supply untreated water to the residents. “Because, many residents use water for external purposes and only very few use it for drinking or cooking purposes,  there is no need for treating the water,” said M Kennedy, a private vendor. Asked about any contamination in the water, he quipped, “I have been in this business for a decade and I have not come across instances where residents have complained of water contamination”. 

Since there is not much water in the water bodies, these operators would also face a challenge in identifying private bore wells this summer. Besides, Metro Water is also desperate to identify agricultural bore wells for renting. “In such a situation, there is a possibility of bore well owners to hike the price for drawing water,” said another vendor in Tambaram. Areas like Poonamallee, Kundrathur, Velachery, Thirumazhisai, Medavakkam, Keelkattalai and Ambattur are usually the main areas from  where water has been drawn during the previous years. 

As far as prices are concerned, the owners of tankers say that it is in accordance with the demands and distances. “We approach farmers, who own bore wells, and explain about the distance between bore wells and supplying areas. For instance, if the supplying areas are located 25 km away from the bore wells, we pay Rs 300 to500 for drawing 12,000 litres from the borewells,” Sundaram, President of Chennai Private Water Tanker Owners Association said. He added that they would sell the same at Rs 1,900 for a full tanker load. 

“We charge around Rs 2,800 for 20,000 litres. However, this will differ with regard to the demand,” he said. “Many owners of tankers have already started approaching farmers owning bore wells. They bear all the expenditure, including diesel prices and salary for drivers and cleaner.”

According to senior PWD officials, indiscriminate extraction of ground water is illegal and punishable. “Those who want to extract ground water should approach district administration officials and fill necessary application forms. Then the beneficiaries, after filling-in the forms, should meet the PWD (Ground Water Wing), who has to issue permit after proper inspection. More importantly, the district level ‘water utilisation committee’ should approve the operators for tapping water. Only then can the beneficiaries draw water from borewells. This is a lengthy procedure,” said a PWD (WRD) official, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

However, none of the private tanker owners operating in the city have a licence and continue their business illegally. “We are also playing a main role in mitigating water supply. Under such circumstances, the government should take stock of the situation and regulate this sector. Further, private water tankers should be allowed in the city properly without interruption. We are more than willing to obtain a licence if the administration will provide us with it,” said members of the Chennai Private Water Tanker Owners Association. However, until such a move happens, the lorry owners go about their business, paying a portion of their income as bribe to revenue officials, say well-placed sources.