Pune Municipal Corporation Appoints Department-Wise Engineers to Tackle Water Supply Issues
Pune, 25th April 2025: In a major administrative overhaul aimed at streamlining the city’s water supply, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to appoint department-wise Deputy Engineers and Branch Engineers, replacing the earlier ward-wise allocation. This move comes in response to growing complaints of disrupted water distribution and internal disputes among engineers over jurisdiction boundaries.
According to Nandkishore Jagtap, Head of the Water Supply Department, the new structure will eliminate the confusion caused by overlapping responsibilities and improve accountability.
“Deputy Engineers and Branch Engineers will be distributed according to the 141 sections of the common water supply scheme. Therefore, they will have control over the water tank and the area under it. They will be able to do the work of reducing water leakage and organizing distribution. A circular has been issued in this regard and orders have been given to make appointments,” Jagtap said.
Currently, Pune’s common water supply scheme includes 141 sections and 90 operational water tanks. The department has 63 Deputy Engineers who will now be assigned specific sections and tanks to monitor and manage.
Previously, Deputy Engineers were appointed ward-wise to assist elected corporators, ensuring that each area had consistent oversight. However, in the absence of elected corporators over the past three years—due to the city being under an administrative setup—monitoring of water supply has weakened, and engineers have lacked direct accountability.
Under the old model, some water tanks served multiple wards, leading to conflicts among engineers over who was responsible. With the new department-wise structure, each engineer will be directly responsible for specific tanks and their distribution systems, regardless of ward boundaries.
The Water Supply Department believes this reorganization will lead to more efficient water management, faster resolution of complaints, and better planning to address leakage and supply issues across Pune.
