Pimpri: In a letter to the Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA), the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation has stated that the corporation cannot provide water to areas under PMRDA's jurisdiction, citing the severe pressure on the city’s water resources. 

This announcement could lead to potential conflict between the two government bodies as PMRDA had recently eased the process of granting construction permits, subject to water supply guarantees from local authorities like PCMC.

The rapid growth in population in Pimpri-Chinchwad has placed a significant strain on the city's water supply system. For the past four and a half years, the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has been supplying water to the city on alternate days. 

Despite efforts to manage the distribution, the municipal corporation is struggling to meet the needs of the city’s approximately 3.5 million residents with the current supply of 610 million liters per day (MLD).

Earlier, PMRDA had implemented strict conditions, withholding construction permits for large-scale housing projects unless there was confirmed availability of water. 

However, in a recent revision, PMRDA Commissioner Dr. Yogesh Mhase stated that construction projects could proceed if a "No Objection Certificate" (NOC) for water supply is issued by the municipal corporation or other relevant local authorities. 

Dr. Mhase also pointed out that rural areas within a 5-kilometer radius of PMRDA’s jurisdiction are legally entitled to water from municipal corporations or local councils, as per a government mandate.

Despite these demands, the PCMC has made it clear that it will not accept responsibility for supplying water to areas outside its jurisdiction, including PMRDA regions. 

PCMC Commissioner Shekhar Singh emphasized the ongoing water shortages in Pimpri-Chinchwad, where essential projects like the Bhama Askhed and Pavana Direct Water Pipeline remain unfinished, and warned that it could take up to four more years before new water sources are secured for the city.

PMRDA’s aggressive push to grant construction permits has added fuel to the fire. Although the number of required documents for permits has been reduced from 133 to 89, the approval of 125 construction proposals in just over a month has heightened concerns over water management.