Water connection in highrises to cost more

JAIPUR: Residents staying in multi-storeyed apartments will have to shell out a large sum of money to procure a water connection.
The Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) has drafted a proposal to levy heavy amount on apartment owners to issue a water connection.
As per the proposal, the PHED will charge Rs 777 per square meter to provide the connection.An official informed, "The proposal will be soon tabled in the meeting with PHED senior officials and later will be sent to the state government for final approval."
Official claimed, the cost will be incurred to develop the infrastructure. The decision has been taken to supply the 30 mld water to the highrises from the filter plant recently constructed in Surajpura. "The water connection to the highrises will be provided in phases. The department will first give connection to the buildings situated in Bapu Nagar, Bani Park, and C-scheme as number apartments in these areas are quite high.
Residents staying in apartment are disappointed as they would be paying higher charges to procure water connection. Jatin Jain, a residents said, "It's government responsibility to provide water connection to every citizen. There should be no disparity between houses and apartment. For example, if an apartment is constructed in 5,000 sqaure meter, the developer will have to bear nearly 40 lakh and he would charge it from consumers."
A PHED official said, " In houses the water connection is issued in maximum Rs 2,500. Though, it will expensive for the consumers but it will create a infrastructure for future."
Meanwhile, with state government departments keeping mum till date over laying water pipelines in new high residential buildings, the city developers are fleecing the residents with additional water charges.
In the absence of government policy and assistance, many developers building highrise residential projects in the outskirts are levying out Rs 50,000-60,000 extra as water security fund.
Ajay Singh, a businessman who plans to purchase an apartment in a highrise in Jagatpura, says, "The builders continue to supply water from borewell and charge us extra claiming water pipelines will be laid in future. The customers have not been informed about the charges that will be spent on supplying water. We don't even know when the lines will be laid. The developers hove our money."
Absence of a proper government policy to provide water connection to these complexes is leading to a grave situation as the developers are fixing charges according to their whims and fancies. Majority of these group housing schemes are coming up in the city outskirts such as in Jagatpura, Ajmer road, etc.