The Water Supply Department of the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) has failed to provide even basic data on illegal water connections in the city, raising serious concerns over transparency, accountability, and revenue leakage in a critical civic service. Information obtained under the Right to Information Act by Abhay Kolarkar for the period from January 2021 to March 2026 reveals a striking pattern. While the department maintains detailed records on authorised connections and revenue generated, it has no year-wise data on illegal connections, no estimation of financial loss, and no sector-wise breakup of violations across slums, hotels or industrial units. In multiple categories, the official response is simply marked “NA”. The absence is not marginal; it is systemic.

 

The department’s only explanation for enforcement is a vague statement that illegal connections are disconnected “as and when identified”. There are no figures to indicate how many such connections were detected, how frequently drives were conducted, or what penalties were imposed. Without metrics, enforcement claims remain unverifiable. When contacted, officials did not provide the missing information. Instead, Prakash Yemde, Deputy Engineer, and Public Relation Officer of the department asked ‘The Hitavada’ to file an additional appeal to obtain the data. The response effectively shifts the burden of disclosure onto the applicant, undermining the spirit of transparency laws that mandate proactive and complete information sharing.

 

This opacity stands in contrast to the department’s financial reporting. NMC’s water revenue has steadily increased from Rs 178 crore in 2021–22 to Rs 234 crore in 2025–26, even as the number of new authorised connections fluctuated significantly. The data suggests a tightening of billing and recovery mechanisms for legal consumers, but offers no clarity on parallel losses due to unauthorised usage. Crucially, the civic body is unable to quantify how much water is being siphoned off illegally or the financial impact of such theft on the exchequer. In a city where water infrastructure is under constant stress, the inability or unwillingness to track unauthorised consumption points to a deeper administrative failure. The lack of data also obscures potential inequities in enforcement.

 

With no classification of illegal connections across residential, commercial or industrial segments, it remains unclear whether action is uniformly applied or selectively enforced. For a public utility that directly affects millions, the absence of credible data on illegal connections is not a technical lapse but a governance deficit. Without accurate assessment, the city cannot plan supply, plug losses, or ensure fair distribution. NMC’s failure to account for illegal usage leaves citizens paying more while the system itself operates without scrutiny.