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.