KMC aims to reach filtered water to all households in next 3 years

Kolkata: Following the instructions of the National Green Tribunal, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) will be doubling its efforts in reaching filtered water to every household in the next three years.

It was learnt that the directions of the NGT to the civic body comes in the wake of a petition that was filed in the tribunal regarding high arsenic contents in the groundwater in Kolkata and South 24-Parganas. In the city, it is the KMC which is responsible for supplying filtered water to households.

It was learnt that presently the KMC has almost 97 per cent of households while it had set a deadline to cover the rest in the next five years and had informed the NGT of the same. However, the tribunal is said to have directed that instead of five the civic body must complete it in the next three years.

The KMC had informed the tribunal that it has almost covered the majority of areas in the city but there are certain pockets which are yet to be covered. As per the civic body data, sources said that to date it has been able to reach filtered water to about five lakh premises while the infrastructure to cover the rest is being set up in phases. The KMC is also focusing on rainwater harvesting following the directions from the state environment impact assessment authority.

The KMC, in 2023, set up several booster pumping stations in the city to increase the force of water where the supply is low. Such stations were set up mainly in the South Kolkata areas of Jadavpur, Dhakuria, among others. Recently, residents of ward 95 complained to the civic body that several pockets in the areas are reeling under a water crisis. The residents have also submitted a complaint letter to councillor Tapan Dasgupta, it was learnt.