July 14: Dispur has decided to create a single authority with the aim of streamlining the city’s drinking water system.

All the three civic agencies of the city ? the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), the Assam Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board (AUWSSA) and the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department ? currently supplying water in different parts of the city would be brought under the proposed authority.

Commissioner of the Guwahati Development Department (GDD) A.K. Bhutani has written to the three agencies seeking their views on how to go about the task of creating the authority to solve the city’s ever-growing drinking water crisis.

A senior GDD official said chief minister Tarun Gogoi has given his consent to the proposal and asked the concerned departments to set up the new authority at the earliest.

The proposed body, comprising experts and technocrats, would undertake in-depth study of the water scarcity and initiate remedial measures by executing long-term plans. There will be one single policy to regulate and distribute water. It will also ensure that the concerned agencies fix the problems, swiftly and efficiently.

Avinash Joshi, commissioner of the GMC said the corporation is soon going to make its submissions on the proposed single authority. “The GDD chief has asked me to file the report at an early date,” he said.

Sources said a loan of Rs 250 crore would be released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the project.

The total water requirement in the city is 140 million litres per day (MLD). While the GMC and PHE together supply about 84 MLD water a day, the AUWSSA supplies 10 MLD.

At present, the city has four water supply projects. In addition, there are eight deep tube-wells and 560 hand-pumps for supplying water to various localities.

Another important objective of the proposed single body is to streamline the distribution system.

“Cases of water pilferation and wastage is fast increasing. But there is no accountability and the existing water supply bodies are also at sea on how to solve the problem,” an official said.

He said though introduction of water metering system can control the menace of pilferation and wastage. However, while the AUWSSA has metering system, the GMC and PHE do not have such provisions.

Sources said the GMC is currently providing drinking water to only 40 per cent of the total city populace. Applications seeking fresh water connections have been lying pending. Experts say if something is not done immediately, over 60 per cent of the city’s population will not receive drinking water despite having paid taxes.

According to an official, the entire water pipe network of the GMC needs immediate repair and renovation. The GDD will convene a meeting next month in this regard. Though it has not been fixed, the new authority is likely to be named Guwahati Jal Nigam.