At present, these areas are receiving water from the Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board. The VMC has been paying Rs 96,000 annually to the board for the supply.

"The capacity of the Bapod tank will be 13.5 lakh litres and the one at Kalali will store 18 lakh litres. The areas coming in the periphery of Parivar crossing to Bapod till highway will be covered by the Bapod water tank and about 50,000 residents of Kalali and surrounding areas will be covered by the Kalali water tank," said Dinesh Choksi, standing committee's chairman.

Interestingly, both the projects have been awarded to one contractor— Akar Construction. It had quoted Rs 6.35 lakh for the project at Bapod, which according to VMC officials, is 25.98 per cent higher than the estimates, and 7.20 per cent higher than the market rates. Similarly, for the Kalali tank, the contractor had quoted Rs 10.59 lakh, which is 34.10 per cent higher than the estimate and 12.12 per cent higher than the market rate.