Pune: Water Usage To Be Metered; Citizens To Pay As Per Consumption
Pune, 5th April 2025: In a bid to regulate water usage and ensure fair billing, Municipal Commissioner Dr. Rajendra Bhosale has instructed the Water Supply Department to implement water charges based on meter readings in areas where meters have already been installed. A formal proposal has been drafted accordingly and presented to the Standing Committee for approval.
For the past eight years, work under the city’s Equal Water Supply Scheme has been ongoing. As part of this project, water meters are being installed to facilitate accurate billing and prevent wastage. Starting this year, citizens living in zones where 90% of the planned meters have been installed will begin receiving water bills based on actual consumption. In turn, the existing flat-rate water tax included in property tax assessments will be withdrawn for those households.
The water charges will be applied using a telescopic rate structure, meaning the more water consumed, the higher the rate. This model is designed to encourage mindful water use and reduce unnecessary consumption across the city.
Under the scheme, meters are being installed in individual homes and housing societies. Out of the targeted 282,000 water meters, more than 60% have already been installed. The city has been divided into 141 water supply zones, and work has been completed in 47 of them. In some zones, over 90% of the meter installation work is already done.
Preliminary data collected from these meters revealed that water usage per person in many areas is between 500 to 800 liters daily — significantly higher than the mandated 135 liters per person per day under the scheme. To address this, the municipal administration plans to enforce water billing based on meter usage to bring consumption in line with prescribed standards.
According to the proposed billing model, the municipality will charge ₹7.50 per 1,000 liters of water. For a household with six to seven members consuming water within the set guidelines, the monthly water bill could be as low as ₹7.50. However, excess usage will incur additional charges.
Large housing societies stand to benefit from this system as well. For instance, a society housing 1,000 people will be eligible for 135,000 liters of water daily. At the proposed rate, the daily cost would range from ₹1,000 to ₹1,100, which officials claim is both affordable and efficient.
The Water Supply Department believes this initiative will not only streamline billing but also promote water conservation citywide.
