Illegal water connections have remained a thorn in the side for the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) for quite some time. According to an estimate, the non-revenue water for the Board amounts to about 40 per cent of its output, which includes leakages and illegal tapping.
However, there is one particular instance where the HMWSSB has turned a blind eye to the illegal tapping in Manikonda, Puppalguda and Neknampur village panchayats.
The Board gives bulk supply of water to these panchayats, delivered to the doorstep of various individuals through the Rural Water Supply network. However, only 656 households have legal connections sanctioned by the Board, while over 5,000 houses avail the water.
As per the Federation of All Colonies’ Residents Welfare Associations, the Board had, in 2015, offered individual water connections to residents of 36 colonies under ‘Intintiki Nalla’ scheme.
Development charges
In continuation of it, the Board has further proposed to levy infrastructure development charges of Rs.164 per square meter in addition to the connection charges, as the entire water supply network needed to be relaid with DI pipes, and the Board was not in a position to do it free of cost.
“We agreed, but only 656 of us paid the first instalment. The Board began to supply water nevertheless. But the water is being used by all the 5,000 households, and the Board has done nothing to curb the illegal tapping, except issuing notices to the unauthorised users,” said D. Sitarama Dass, President of the Federation.
Later, the Board has abruptly decided to abandon the project, and stopped giving further connections.
While the infrastructure cost was estimated to be Rs.146 crore, the Board has not spent a paisa of the money collected so far on relaying the pipelines, Mr.Dass alleges. Meanwhile, the 656 customers who paid the charges, got notices in December last for second instalment, defaulting on which could lead to disconnection. Though the officials are not pressing for payments now, the notice is still visible on the Board’s website, Mr.Dass says.
Waiver sought
“We are asking the officials to waive the second and third instalments, in view of the failure of the Board to relay the pipelines, or collect the instalments from the remaining users,” he says.
The Managing Director of the Board M. Dana Kishore, when approached, offered to return the first instalment, and relay the pipeline network as part of the scheme to provide drinking water to 190 villages within the ORR. However, the colony residents fear that the bulk supply too will be withdrawn if the instalment is returned.
“Besides, the project cost to to supply to 190 villages was estimated to be only Rs.630 crore. But for three villages, they estimated the cost to be Rs.146 crore. This itself is very unfair,” said another resident under the condition of anonymity.
A total of 161 illegal users in these three panchayats were issued notices in October last asking them to regularise the connections, but to no avail, he informed.
The Board officials, on the condition of anonymity, admit that it was an ill thought out project, and there was no way to wriggle out of it.
