India, Aug. 22 -- Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation's (PCMC's) massive door-to-door drive, launched in February, to curb illegal water connections in the twin city has so far resulted in identification of 13,824 unauthorised connections. A total of 20,000 connections were surveyed in the first phase that ended in July, out of which 1,883 households were legalised with water meters, civic officials said on Thursday, adding that the second phase will begin soon.

According to the officials, illegal connections account for 25-30% of the city's water losses. This pilot project covering 30,500 households across 10 zones has already reduced non revenue water (NRW) by 5-8%. If expanded, losses could be cut to below 20%, which is the desired...