The Times of India            21.11.2013

KMC slaps notices on water tax defaulters

KOLHAPUR: The Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) has issued notices to 8,948 commercial water connection holders for not clearing tax dues amounting to Rs 8.5 crore. The civic body has threatened to snap supply if the consumers do not pay the amount within 15 days since the day the noticse was issued.

Seven months into this financial year, the department could mop up only Rs 15.60 crore as water tax evan as the target was Rs 40 crore.

KMC water tax superintendent Prashant Pandat said, "The notices have been issued to the consumers with tax dues over Rs 5,000. We have appealed to them to pay the dues before 15 days. The total dues amount to Rs 8.5 crore, an amount that would certainly help us strengthen the department financially."

At present, the city has about 97,000 water connections. The corporation lifts 120 million litres per day (MLD) of water from the Panchaganga River. The total expenditure of the water supply management is around Rs 44 crore a year, which does not commensurate with the taxes collected from the customers.

"The drive against illegal water connection was resumed after Diwali. We will carry out drive in the suburban parts of the city so that we can rake in more revenue by legalizing such connections," Pandat said.