Rural households in Puducherry are set to come under a more closely monitored drinking-water supply system, with the territorial government introducing time-bound norms for fixing leaks, testing water quality, handling contamination, and responding to public complaints.
The revised Operation and Maintenance Policy for rural water supply, notified by the Local Administration Department, seeks to shift the focus from merely creating infrastructure to ensuring that taps, pipelines, overhead tanks, and pumping systems deliver safe water reliably over the long term. The policy incorporates provisions under Jal Jeevan Mission 2.0.
According to an official, “The move is significant for Puducherry, where groundwater remains the main source of water supply schemes and rural areas face recurring concerns over declining groundwater levels, drought, seawater intrusion, floods, and water-quality issues. About 32% of the Union Territory’s population lives in rural areas, making sustained maintenance of local water systems critical.”
The policy requires authorities to ensure a supply of at least 55 litres per person a day through functional household tap connections. Water must meet BIS drinking water standards, while residual chlorine at the consumer end should not fall below 0.20 parts per million. Bore wells and other sources are to be tested before and after the monsoon, and overhead tanks and sumps must be cleaned at least once a month.
He added, “In the event of contamination, the affected source or connection must be isolated immediately, consumers alerted, and alternative potable water supplied through tankers or other sources. Supply can be restored only after disinfection, and a fresh test confirms that the water meets the required standard.”
The policy sets specific deadlines for restoring services, which could make local bodies more accountable to residents. Leaks in distribution pipelines or household connections must be attended to within 24 hours. Damage to pumping mains, transmission lines or storage structures must be rectified within 48 hours, with alternative supply arranged where repairs take longer.
According to the revised policy, public complaints of no supply or inadequate supply in a household connection must be resolved within 24 hours. For water-quality complaints, authorities must collect a sample within 24 hours and take immediate remedial action once the test result is available. Confirmed contamination must trigger an alternative supply on the same day. Billing disputes and complete applications for new tap connections must be dealt with within 15 days.
Focus on reducing wastage
Official sources said that a central feature of the policy is the target to curb non-revenue water — the gap between water produced and water billed or delivered — caused largely by leaks, unauthorised tapping and wastage. The government has set a goal of reducing it to below 15% within three years and below 10% within five years.
To track losses and improve control, the policy proposes bulk meters, IoT-based meters at sources and panchayat-level sumps, automation of pumping systems, and use of telemetry and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) technology. A State-level Command and Control Centre and district monitoring dashboards are proposed to track supply, flow, water levels, energy consumption, and service indicators.
Community role
The revised framework places greater responsibility on Village Water and Sanitation Committees, which will function as village-level utilities. The committees will oversee day-to-day operations, water-quality monitoring, user-charge collection, records, conservation efforts, and grievance redressal.
They will be required to prepare annual water budgets, assessing the yield of local sources against drinking water demand, and placing drinking water ahead of competing uses. The policy also calls for rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge, protection of bore wells, greywater treatment and reuse, and the revival of ponds and tanks wherever feasible.
V. Chandrasekhar, president of the Bangaru Vaickal Neeradhara Koottamaippu, a water users association said the revised guidelines could improve accountability only if local communities were given a substantive role.
“Tank users’ associations, village communities, water users and local bodies must have a meaningful role in monitoring supply, reporting leakages, protecting groundwater sources, and ensuring that water charges are collected and used transparently for maintenance. Further, recharge borewells should be fitted with proper filtration systems so that rainwater carrying sewage, plastic, silt or other pollutants does not enter and contaminate groundwater.,” he added.