The Hindu 12.01.2010
No plans to increase tariff: water board
Special correspondent
| There is plenty of scope to improve the finances, says the HMWSSB Managing Director |
Board’s finances up since last couple of months
Lot of revenue leakage in our own system: MD
Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Water Supply and Sewerage Board has no plans to increase the water charges right away.
As far as possible it wants to spare the hike as it feels there is plenty of scope to improve the finances.
During the last couple of months the Board’s finances have started looking up and if the system is streamlined properly there may not be any need to jack up the charges, it is said.
“There is no point in increasing the tariff when there is lot of revenue leakage in our own system. We are expecting to raise the present demand and plug the leakage by March,” said Hyderabd Metropolital Water Supply and Sewerge Board’s Managing Director M.T. Krishna Babu.
Human element
To start with it is proposed to do away with the human element in recording of meter reading. Some meter readers are working to the detriment of the Board by pocketing money in connivance with the house owners and reporting that the premises are locked or the meter is not working. If auto meters are installed this tendency to play mischief can be taken care of, it is said.
Auto meters
The Board has already installed auto meter readers with GPRS technology for 149 bulk consumers. But this Israeli technology is very expensive. The other alternative is to go for the Radio Frequency Device. But here again one has to carry the device within 100 meters of the connections to record the reading.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, which handles water supply in Mumbai, has already experimented with both these technologies for 15,000 connections. And now it has introduced the RFD technology for 3 lakh connections. Senior officials of the Board, including its MD, have decided to study the technologies. They will be leaving for Mumbai this month end.
The Board will study the technologies and adopt whichever is cost effective for consumers with three-fourth and half inch connections in division VI.
