Pune: The primary dispute resolution officer of the water regulatory authority on Friday limited the right of the city to only 8.19 TMC water and said the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) would be penalized for any additional consumption, prompting the civic body to decide immediately to appeal against the order.Reacting to the development promptly, VG Kulkarni, the head of the PMC's water department, said the city would not be subjected to water cuts. "We have got the order. We will challenge it at the appropriate higher appellant body," he said. The PMC withdraws 14 TMC water a year.TN Munde, the primary dispute resolution officer (PDRO) issued the directive after six-month-long debate on a petition of Baramati resident Vitthal Dnyandev Jarad, seeking directive to PMC to use water judiciously. "The state government has approved 11.5 TMC water to PMC till 2021 (depending on population). So, the irrigation department should give PMC 8.19 TMC water based on the 2017 population estimate," he said."The PMC should be penalized for lifting additional water," Munde told TOI.He said PMC should treat 6.5 TMC sewage water according to the standards laid down by the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and release it in the canal.PDRO, a state government body, was constituted based on the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA) Act, 2005. It is responsible for regulation, allocation, management and utilization of limited water resources in the state. It is authorized to control and set water tariffs.Activists feel that there was more to the directives than what met the eye. "The directive of PDRO appears to be in tune with fresh tenders for water meters. Citizens are being pressed to take note of the 24X7 water supply scheme's significance," said Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch, a citizens' group.

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