Although the Municipal Corporation is contemplating a hike in water tariff citing losses in the generation and distribution of water, it has not been able to recover bills close to Rs 10 crore. Ironically, amongst its biggest defaulters are government offices including divisions of the UT Administration and the Municipal Corporation.

The officials of the civic body claim that the hike would help them meet the losses.

For the year 2008-09, the expenditure to supply water was Rs 75 crore while the revenue was pegged at Rs 47 crore.

Defaulters
The Horticulture divisions of both the Municipal Corporation and the UT Administration are among the biggest defaulters. The Horticulture department’s Division 2 in Sector 1 has three connections with bills pending to the tune of Rs 64.95 lakh. The irrigation department of Leisure Valley, Sector 10, has an outstanding bill of Rs 20.85 lakh, Horticulture sub-division in Sector 40 is yet to pay Rs 1.02 lakh while the Sector-23 SDO office has not paid Rs 1.27 lakh to the Municipal Corporation.

The Rs 10 lakh bill for irrigating a green belt in Sector 33 too has not been paid. The public health divisions of the Municipal Corporation in Sector 8 and 9 have pending bills amounting to a few lakhs.

The PGI construction division has not paid Rs 40 lakh. Shanti Kunj in Sector 16, another garden being maintained by the UT Administration, has uncleared bills of Rs 61 lakh. Another Rs 24 lakh is pending against the horticulture division in Sector 16. 

The Chandigarh Police is also not far behind. The water connection at the police check post in Sector 42 is yet to pay Rs 5.29 lakh. The two connections given to Punjab Police barracks in Sector 39 have pending bills to the tune of Rs 4.18 lakh and Rs 3.82 lakh, respectively.

The Sector-26 fruit nurseries have defaulted on bills amounting to more than Rs 14 lakh while the Rose Nursery in Sector 23 has Rs 5 lakh pending against its name.

Losses

Apart from the revenue loss, water is wasted during distribution as well. The Municipal Corporation has admitted to 27 per cent transmission loss. The city receives 87 million gallons of water per day of which 67 mgd is from Kajauli and the remaining from tubewells. The civic body officials have claimed that supply from tubewells has decreased over the years due to leakages in supply lines. Wastage of water goes unchecked in slums and colonies. The fate of the Kajauli Phase V and VI that would have allocated more water to the city is uncertain with the Punjab government refusing to release water.

OfficialSpeak
Chief Engineer S S Bida said the defaulters would be served notices and if they do not pay, their supply would be discontinued.

“The government departments are being sent letters asking them to clear the bills. The civic body is facing losses in the generation and distribution of water. Efforts are being made to reduce transmission losses as well,” he said. 

Former mayor Kamlesh, during whose tenure the proposal for a hike in water tariff was introduced two years ago, said, “We had rejected the proposal and asked officials to curtail losses. The civic body has not been able to recover bills from defaulters. Strict action should be taken against habitual defaulters. The civic body needs to streamline its system, only then losses to the exchequer can be checked.”

The two Central ministers held a meeting on Monday where Mukherjee assured he would look into the matter, the Mayor told an interactive session on Kolkata: Initiatives for a Better Tomorrow, organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce.

Identifying traffic congestion as one of the major problems in the city, the Mayor said he had held a meeting with the Commissioner of Police regarding the matter on Monday. In a city with only 6 per cent road coverage, unplanned taxi, auto, matador and bus stands, hawkers and unauthorised plying of trucks were posing a major problem, he said.

The KMC was reviewing the matter, following complaints that some businessmen were trying to convert heritage buildings into multi-storey buildings, Chatterjee said.

A hospital on the lines of Christian Medical College, Vellore, would be set up on 22 bighas of land in the city. Union Minister of State for Health Dinesh Trivedi has already made arrangements for setting up the hospital, the Mayor added.