The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is contemplating not to sanction new water connections outside the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits.

The water board requested the state government for limiting the jurisdiction of the HMWS&SB to GHMC area and any new connections outside the corporation limits can be given only in exceptional cases with the approval of the water board.

Giving any new water connections outside the GHMC area has become a costly affair for the water board. At the board meeting held last week, the issue was brought to the notice of chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, who is also the board chairman.

Like GHMC, which has a jurisdiction of 625 sq km, no jurisdiction is marked for the HMWS&SB.

Board officials told Express that outside the GHMC limits, there is no adequate pipeline network. At present, the board is struggling to strengthen water distribution network in the 12 surrounding municipalities which are merged with GHMC a few years ago.

Consumers living outside the GHMC limits are requesting for sanctioning of water connections. Though the HMWS&SB is keen on providing water connections, they are not in a position to do so because of the high involved.

The consumer may be ready to pay a few thousand rupees for water connection, but giving a new connection involves huge expenditure as the board has to lay the pipelines.

If the state government or the panchayat raj department meets the cost for laying the main pipelines in the gram panchayats, the HMWS&SB can think of giving water connections outside the GHMC limits.

Under the GHMC limits, the corporation is helping the HMWS&SB with funds, officials added.          

The HMWS&SB also wanted the state government to make approval mandatory for bulk consumers who are demanding above 0.5 million gallons of water per day (MGD).

There is a demand to supply water to Shankarpally, Chevella, Maheshwaram, Ameenpur, Gunagal, Hayathnagar, Ibrahimpatnam, Meerpet and Nasarlapally gram panchayats, which require more than 0.5 MGD.

The total demand from panchayats is about 10.20 MGD, while from Rajiv Gruhakalpa at Chandanagar and Nizampet the demand is about 1.87 MGD.