The Hindu 29.09.2010
Water Board ‘weeds out' legal connections
J.S. Ifthekhar
| Many of the 25,000 connections it identified as illegal turn out to be lawful |
Hyderabad: Water Board's attempt to weed out illegal connections seem to be blowing up in its face. Many of the 25,000 connections it identified as illegal are turning out to be lawful after all. With just two days left for expiry of the September 30 deadline for regularisation of illegal connections, the GHMC has sprung a surprise. A list recently submitted by it showed that 3,500 connections in Uppal division are legal. These connections figured in the ‘illegal list' of Water Board.
Ledgers of erstwhile municipalities are not updated with the result that many consumers who had obtained water connections after paying due charges are shown as defaulters in the Water Board records.
Verification drive
The ongoing verification drive of municipal records of Serilingampally, Quthbullapur and Malkajgiri shows that many of the so called illegal connection holders do have some kind of document.
The Water Board hoped to net huge money by way of penalty and arrears from the illegal connections. But now it appears that it would have to settle for a tiny amount. So far only 3,340 consumers have applied for regularisation of their connections by paying up Rs. 2.25 crore. A major chunk of 1,600 applications poured in only in the last ten days before the earlier deadline of September 14 ended. “September 30 is the last date and there will be no further extensions,” says K. Ashok Reddy, executive director, HMWSSB.
Hundreds of consumers in the peripheral areas, it is said, have not paid their bills for the last 13 months ever since the water connections in the municipalities were handed over to the HMWSSB and this alone would bring in a good revenue. “We will be able to collect at least Rs. 60 lakh from the 3,500 connections which are now declared as legal in Uppal,” Mr. Reddy said.
Meanwhile, the Water Board is gearing up for operation disconnection from next month onwards. It is putting into place a number of disconnection teams.
The Board has also written to the government to depute at least 50 police personnel to strengthen its vigilance cell. Now it has a lone police inspector.
