BWSSB expands jurisdiction to cover entire Bengaluru Urban district

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Residents collect water distributed by a water tanker in Bengaluru on Thursday. The BWSSB will now be responsible for the planning, implementation, operation and maintenance of drinking water supply across the newly added areas. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

The Urban Development Department (UDD) on Thursday notified an expansion of the operational reach of the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), extending its jurisdiction to cover the whole of Bengaluru Urban District.

Till now, the BWSSB’s reach was limited to the core city area, comprising the erstwhile seven City Municipal Councils (CMCs), one Town Municipal Council (TMC), and 110 villages, spanning roughly 800 sq. km.

With the fresh notification, the jurisdiction now extends across the entire district, taking in five taluks in full, including North, East, South, Yelahanka, and Anekal and villages within them.

The BWSSB will now be responsible for the planning, implementation, operation, and maintenance of drinking water supply, underground drainage systems, and safe sewage disposal through treatment plants across the newly added areas.

A combined master plan will be prepared for the entire Bengaluru Urban district outside the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) limits to ensure assured drinking water and sewage infrastructure, Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda said on Friday.

The Minister said that the BWSSB has been directed to assess drinking water requirements for the next five and 10 years and beyond. The plan will cover water storage, treatment plants, and distribution networks.

A similar blueprint will be prepared for underground sewage networks and sewage treatment plants, Mr. Gowda said, adding that the implementation will be taken up in phases in line with urban expansion.

The directions were issued at a meeting involving the BWSSB, Bengaluru Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA), and Minor Irrigation Department.

The Minister said that the exploitation of groundwater has skyrocketed beyond sustainable levels, and an external intervention is required to restore groundwater levels. For this purpose, the government had also directed the Minor Irrigation Department to prepare plans to use treated wastewater from Bengaluru to fill lakes around the GBA limits, he noted.

The government said the agencies had been instructed to prepare detailed plans for consideration, with the objective of addressing infrastructure needs ahead of urban expansion.

Mr. Gowda said that the move comes as urbanisation has crossed GBA limits, with rapid growth taking place in municipalities and gram panchayats surrounding the city.

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