The BWSSB is considering sanctioning sanitary connections only to
those households that have water connections and an RR number in
newly-added areas of the city.

The proposal comes amid concerns
over pilferage of supplied water, which causes an estimated revenue loss
of `20 crore to BWSSB every month.

According to a source in the
BWSSB, with the commissioning of the Cauvery-IV Stage II Phase Drinking
Water Project, the proportion of water being used illegally has risen
from 36 per cent to 45 per cent. The plan to link sanctioning of
sanitary connections to water connections is aimed at making house
owners subscribe for a water connection.

According to T
Venkatraju, engineer in chief, BWSSB, about 40-60 per cent of water
supplied to newly-added areas of the city is unaccounted for.

Venkatraju
said the BWSSB had laid pipelines at the doorsteps of around 2.3 lakh
households in the newly-added areas of the city under the Greater
Bangalore Water Supply and Sanitation Project.

However, only
60,000 households in these areas have legal water connections. “Unless
most of these households subscribe for a water connection, it will be
impossible to minimise leakages from pipelines,” he said.

Venkatraju
said as the BWSSB is still supplying borewell water in these areas free
of cost, residents are reluctant to apply for a metered connection that
supplied Cauvery water as they would have to pay for it. “Though they
pay pro-rata and other charges while taking a sanitary connection, they
are unwilling to take a water supply connection,” he said.