If contractors and plumbers are charging exorbitantly to provide
Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) water connections to
your house or building, you can now directly approach the BWSSB, pay
necessary charges and get the connection for just Rs 1,470.
BWSSB’s
Engineer-in-Chief T Venkatraju said, “People are repeatedly complaining
to us about plumbers charging exorbitantly on the pretext of paying
bribes to the BWSSB officials. To eliminate middlemen and ensure that
water connection process is made easy, we have decided to provide water
connections on our own at a nominal cost. People who want to avail
themselves of the services should pay Rs 1,470 by way of cheque to the
Executive Engineer of the respective area after paying the necessary
charges and obtaining permissions.”
Venkatraju said the Executive
Engineer of each sub-division has been directed to entrust the work to
plumbers or contractors, who would be engaged by the BWSSB. Those
willing to take water connections on their own can take the connections
through licensed plumbers or contractors after obtaining the necessary
permissions.
Apart from paying the prorata charges in accordance
with the property dimension and location, the property owners have to
pay Rs 2,155 towards deposit, meter cost, inspection charges and
attachment fee before approaching the BWSSB for a water connection.
Sudden Demand
Venkatraju
said more people were seeking water connections since the onset of
summer. Most of the demands have come from the newly-added areas of the
city. Around 38,000 building owners have applied for water connections
in East-3 Sub-division alone and BWSSB engineers have issued clearances
to provide water connections to 10,200 buildings.
“To clear the
applications at the earliest, we have directed all the Assistant
Executive Engineers to inspect at least 30 properties a day and give
clearances for new connections. It is difficult to give more than 100
clearances in a day, as there are three teams in the zone. Yet, we are
sure that we will clear all the files at the earliest”, Venkatraju
added.
