Water dues: Malkajgiri residents see red

Over 9,000 households in Malkajgiri and surrounding areas are left in a limbo due the ongoing tussle between GHMC and Water Board.

Both the departments have failed to resolve a pertinent issue regarding the payment of water bills by these residents to the municipality before year 2009.

Due to this three-year old tussle residents are now being asked to shell out arrears despite paying their bills regularly.

In 2009, residents of Malkajgiri received bills from Water Board advising them to pay their monthly bills along with arrears ranging from Rs. 6,000 to Rs. 15,000.

This, the residents were explained, was because the municipal authorities did not give proper records to the water board.

No due certificate

Residents were assured by the water board officials that their arrears will be waived off if they produce the receipts along with a ‘No-Dues' certificate from municipal authorities.

But three years down the lane, a substantial chunk of these people are still baffled over the steps they have to take to clear their arrears.

Affidavit

To get their arrears waived-off consumers now have to produce an affidavit stating that they do not owe the department any pending bills.

While the customers are compelled to run from pillar to post, officials too accept that the confusion is costing everyone dearly.

“We have sent all the records, in both soft and hard copies, to the water board in 2009 itself. Now the consumers are being asked to procure individual ‘No-Dues' certificates from our office. Because of the number of people involved, it is becoming difficult for us to issue these certificates,” Deputy Municipal Commissioner, East Zone, G. Ravi said.

‘Incomplete records'

Since we have already sent the data, Water Board should take proper action to streamline the process, he said. On the other hand, Water Board officials claim that the records received by them were incomplete.

“We raised demands for arrears based on the records sent by the municipal authorities. If their records were complete we would not have raised the arrears in the first place,” J. Vikas HMWSSB manager said.

Since the arrears are already raised, they can be waived off only when a consumer produces either a No-Dues certificate from municipal authorities or an affidavit, the manager explained.