JAIPUR: The Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) has identified 70 illegal water connections in Ratnagiri Apartment located in Indira Gandhi Nagar, part of the Rajasthan Housing Board (RHB) in Jagatpura.
This finding is likely to initiate a broader investigation, especially concerning the possibility of multiple unauthorized connections in other RHB colonies within Indira Gandhi Nagar and Pratap Nagar.
“The issue mirrors many RHB apartments and homes in Indira Gandhi Nagar and Pratap Nagar. There are few consumers with legitimate drinking water connections, while numerous illegal connections exist. We plan to launch a campaign against these unauthorized connections soon,” stated a senior PHED official.
Housing board officials claimed they do not facilitate illegal connections, stating that residents are utilizing these connections at their own expense. “We provide boring connections when constructing apartments. Residents must apply for PHED water connections for plots. We are not involved with these illegal connections,” an official clarified.
A senior PHED official estimated that Jaipur has around 500,000 PHED connections, with approximately 100,000 being illegal. This contributes to the theft of roughly 250 billion liters of water belonging to registered consumers each month.
“The losses are substantial. This is why, despite receiving sufficient water from the Bisalpur system, registered consumers face a year-round water crisis. To mitigate the impact of water theft, additional supplies are often sourced from Bisalpur,” explained an engineer.
Engineers indicated that detecting illegal connections or the use of booster pumps throughout Jaipur is challenging.
“Residents with illegal connections often prevent us from inspecting their premises, citing various excuses. Identifying booster pump usage is even more complicated, as users avoid switching their pumps on during our inspections,” reported an assistant executive engineer.
