Despite the current power and water crisis, there is little check on the illegal water, electricity and sewage connections that thrive in the city. These connections, which add to the load, mainly benefit illegal buildings in the city.

Religious structures comprise a large number of such buildings, which over several years have increased in size. All these structures have uninterrupted power and water supply — some present for many years.

And even though the UT Administration and the Municipal Corporation conduct regular demolition drives to remove encroachments, these structures continue to exist. Arvind Jain, president of the Market Welfare Association, Sector 22, says that authorities should take action.

“It needs to be probed how these buildings got water and power connections. These structures eat into the share of residents, who face power cuts. Some action needs to be taken at the earliest,” he says.

A similar situation prevails in Manimajra. Apart from religious structures, the area has workshops with illegal water connections. Though checks were conducted by the MC recently, these violations continue.

B S Makol, president of the Manimajra Motor Market Association, says the authorities have failed to act against these structures some of which are “traffic hazards”. “They seem to face no problems in getting water and electricity connections. They are even connected to the sewerage system,” he says.

Officials also agree there is a load on power supply due to these kundi connections.