MUMBAI, OCT 27: The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) will take charge of the township's water supply on November 1. The water department was officially handed over by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which so far provided water supply to Navi Mumbai, to the NMMC at a joint meeting of CIDCO and NMMC officials on Tuesday.It is also now for the NMMC to sort out the water charges issue, over which NMMC corporators cutting across party lines had lodged a protest against CIDCO by demanding a drop in water rates. The corporators will now have to convince their own municipal commissioner to reduce the water charges.
At the meeting, it was decided that CIDCO would depute its existing water department employees to the NMMC, and salaries of these employees would be borne by NMMC from November onwards. All other expenses towards maintenance and management of the water supply system will also be borne by NMMC.
However, the current outstanding to the agencies lending water to CIDCOwill be cleared by CIDCO. After deliberations between CIDCO managing director Anilkumar Lakhina and NMMC commissioner Subhaschandra Bhakre, it was decided that CIDCO will contribute up to Rs 5 crore on infrastructural developments related to water supply even after the NMMC assumes charge. This has been finalised in view of the fact that CIDCO had collected huge amounts from the people of Navi Mumbai as taxes, with a certain amount earmarked for water supply. These expenses by CIDCO will be borne after joint meetings between CIDCO and NMMC officials.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.