ISLAMABAD: Elected representatives in the federal capital unanimously decided on Friday to punish the residents caught wasting water.

Mayor Sheilch Ansar Aziz proposed at the 8th session of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) that residents found wasting water be fined Rs5,000 and the house agreed wholeheartedly.

`At a time when Islamabad is facing an excessive shortage of water, some people indulge in wasting drinking water by washing their cars and other such activities, or let water overflow into the streets,` the mayor said.

No or little rains have created a water crisis in the city for even the households which depend on underground water. Water levels in the Simly and Khanpur reservoirs have also gone down, the mayor noted.

Members on both sides of the aisle agreed with him. `We agree that MCI impose fine on those who waste water,` said opposition leader Ali Nawaz Awan, urging the mayor to fix the problem on a permanent basis.

His other proposal for closing down car washing centres in the city did not receive favourofthehouse though.

However, neither the mayor nor the local representatives spelled out the mechanism for imposing the fine for water wastage. All that the mayor could tell the house was that `before implementing the decision, citizens will be warned through newspaper advertisements.

Later, the mayor told Dawn that a propermechanism would be evolved in consultation with the law directorate of the MCI and the opposition members to punish water wasters.

`Our inspectors will monitor all Union Councils and will report wherever they see any water being wasted,` he said.

However, during the session, the temporary Chief Metropolitan Officer Asad Mehboob Kayani informed the house that the procedure for dealing with the municipal offence was clear in the local government act. The MCI could impose a fine for an offence from Rs2,000 to up to Rs25,000 in case of repeat of the offence.

On the other hand, the local representatives demanded that all illegal water connections should be given legal status. That`s way the MCI would be fulfilling its responsibility as well as generate revenue.

`All citizens of Islamabad should be given legal water connections as in my Union Council, the slum dwellers are not being given legal connections,` reminded Anjum Shahzad, a UC chairman.

Thousands of citizens are known to have illegal water connections, particularly from the main pipeline of Simly Dam.

Notices were issued to over 7,000 such connections after a survey by the water directorate last year unearthed them. Many MCI officials believe the actual figure of illegal connections is around 15,000. Many owners of palatial houses and farmhouses were among those found stealing water.

Several UC chairman belonging to the ruling PML-N complained about water shortage in their areas.`My UC gets hardly 20-minute water supply in a day. Worse, the water directorate disconnected the three filtration plants in my area, said chairman of Sector I-10, Rana Ishfaq.

An opposition member warned of unrest and migration if serious steps were not taken to improve the water supply. Others suggested to the mayor to see that leakages in main water pipelines are plugged.

Deputy Mayor Syed Zeshan Naqvi made an interesting suggestion to establish what he called `rubber dams` in the foothills of Margallah and other areas to preserve rainwater. `Through rubber dams we could provide water in many union councils,` he said.

Concluding the debate on water issue, the mayor said the MCI inherited water crisis form the CDA, which kept this sector neglected for many years. `But we are determined to resolve this issue,` he said.

The house also discussed the issue of kiosks as the mayor said the MCI had decided to restore 485 approved kiosks in the city.

Earlier, a heated debate took place on the waste collection system in the city as members from the rural area demanded that it should cover their areas as well.

PTI UC chairperson Fouzia Arshad said there was a dire need for the cleanliness of nullahs.

The mayor informed the house that contractors had been hired to carry out sanitation services in the rural areas of the city and soon the MCI would flout tenders.

The house also passed a resolution, moved by deputy mayor Chaudhry Rifat Javed, requesting the federal government to release funding for MCL