Ferozepur Cantonment residents decry new water usage regulations
Ferozepur, April 2, 2025: The residents of the cantonment area in Ferozepur are expressing strong opposition to recently introduced byelaws, which they claim will lead to undue harassment and financial burden.
Surinder Pal Singh Sooch, President, and Pardeep Dhawan, General Secretary of the Ferozepur Cantonment Bungalow Owners’ Association (Regd.), stated that residents have been using electric motors and tubewells for decades to water their gardens and surroundings. However, the cantonment board has now mandated that all such connections must be registered and periodically renewed under stringent conditions.
According to Sooch, failure to comply with these new regulations could result in penalties or even the disconnection of existing motors and tubewells. He further pointed out that while residents already pay electricity charges to the power board, the cantonment board is now seeking to install meters and impose additional charges. These excessive costs, he warned, would make it nearly impossible for residents to sustain their existing green cover.
Residents argue that many of these tubewell and electric connections have been operational for over 50 years with proper authorization. Retrospective registration, they say, is unjust and will create unnecessary hardship. The association asserts that legally sanctioned borewells and electric motors cannot be rendered illegal through new byelaws. Moreover, they contend that the cantonment board has no legal authority to charge for groundwater used solely for maintaining residential greenery.
The residents have urged the authorities to reconsider these byelaws to prevent unnecessary distress and financial strain on the community.