Pune: Builders Must Supply Water to Residents in 32 Newly Merged Villages Until PMC Takes Over

Pune, 12th October 2026: Builders developing housing projects in the 32 villages newly merged into the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits will have to arrange water supply at their own expense until the civic body provides an adequate supply at sufficient pressure. The PMC has introduced a revised policy to fix developers’ responsibility for ensuring water supply to residents.

Under the revised policy, developers must submit an updated undertaking along with their building permission proposals, accepting responsibility for water supply at various stages, including building permission, the completion certificate and the occupancy certificate.

The 32 villages were merged into the PMC limits on October 4, 2017, and June 30, 2021.

Developers were previously required to submit undertakings assuring adequate water supply to residents before obtaining building permissions. However, residents of several housing projects have reportedly been left paying for water tankers after developers sold the flats, despite the earlier assurances.

The PMC’s Building Permission Department had issued warnings to developers over the issue. However, shortcomings in the earlier policy made it difficult for the civic body to fix responsibility and initiate firm action against those who failed to provide water.

Following directions from Mayor Manjusha Nagpure during a general body meeting, the civic administration prepared the revised policy. City Engineer Aniruddha Pawaskar has issued an official circular outlining the new requirements.

“We were unable to fix developers’ responsibility because of shortcomings in the undertakings related to water supply in the merged villages. As a result, the municipal corporation had to face the ire of residents. Therefore, a revised policy has now been formulated,” Pawaskar said.

What the revised PMC water supply policy says

Under the revised policy, developers will have to ensure water supply for at least three years or until the PMC begins actual water supply, whichever is later.

The key provisions include:

Water supply at the developer’s expense:

Developers must arrange water through borewells, tankers or temporary water storage facilities and bear the costs of maintenance and supply.

Mandatory responsibility at different stages:

Water supply obligations will apply at the building permission, completion certificate and occupancy certificate stages.

Disclosure in property documents: The developer’s water supply responsibility must be mentioned in sale deeds, allotment letters and documents related to cooperative housing society registration.

Clarity in booking agreements: Agreements executed when booking residential flats or commercial units must explicitly state the developer’s water supply obligations.

Water quality testing: Water supplied through tankers or borewells must undergo laboratory testing. Developers will also be responsible for ensuring that the water meets appropriate quality standards.

Action for non-compliance: Developers who discontinue water supply in violation of the policy may face penalties, suspension of permissions, restrictions on new approvals and criminal action in serious cases.