The Hindu 30.11.2010
State bodies owe 122 cr. to Water Board as arrears
Special Correspondent
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Gram panchayats, DGP and GHMC among list of defaulters |
Board has sent letters to Principal Secretaries, HoDs for payment of water cess arrears
HMWSSB says it is unable to pay power charges, which has accumulated to Rs.40 crore
HYDERABAD: It is not just the domestic consumers who default in
payment of their water bills. The government departments, too, owe a
whopping Rs.122.31 crore to the Water Board.
The gram panchayats owe Rs.29.60 crore for the 14 Consumer Account
Numbers (CANs), the Directorate of Municipal Administration Rs.22.32
crore (2 CANs), the Medical and Health Department Rs.2.36 crore (8
CANs), Director General of Police Rs.5.09 crore (194 CANs) and GHMC
Rs.62.94 crore (27 CANs) to the Board.
The Water Board has dashed-off DO letters to the principal
secretaries concerned and the heads of departments for payment of water
cess arrears. But so far, it has not received any amount.
Financial crunch
In a press release, the HMWSSB said it was passing through ‘critical
financial crunch’ and was unable to pay power charges for the last two
months as a result of which the power bill of the body has accumulated
to Rs.40 crore.
Still the Water Board had not resorted to the unpleasant action of disconnection of supply to the government departments.
“If the dues are not paid in time, the Board is not able to maintain the operation and maintenance system,” the release said.
It further stated that adequate quantity of water was being supplied
to residents and government departments and surrounding municipalities.
But the payments were not being received regularly. The Board urged the
government departments to release water cess arrears immediately to help
it overcome its financial crisis.
