Government departments major water bill defaulters, owe BWSSB Rs 23 crore

When it comes to payment of water and sanitary bills, government departments and commercial establishments in the city have emerged as big defaulters.

BENGALURU: When it comes to payment of water and sanitary bills, government departments and commercial establishments in the city have emerged as big defaulters.

Their overall pending bills to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) run into Rs 129 crore, a figure more than the total monthly revenue collection of the Water Board.

The six-month deadline fixed for collection of these bills by the Executive Engineers (EEs) in March is now fast approaching. Topping the defaulter list are commercial establishments, which owe the Water Board Rs 54.91 crore (see box). While the State government owes the department nearly Rs 23 crore, the BBMP owes it Rs 13.57 crore.

“Establishments that are partially commercial and partially domestic owe the Board nearly Rs 21 crore,” informed an official.

According to BWSSB Engineer-in-Chief Kemparamiah, the average earning of the Board per month is Rs 120 crore.

“This is inclusive of water and sanitary bills ranging between Rs 97 crore and Rs 98 crore and pro-rata and other fees touching an average of Rs 23 crore,” he said.

Each of the 19 EEs has been fixed a monthly revenue collection target of Rs 50 lakh, he said. Notices had been issued to all the defaulters in September asking them to pay up the dues in six monthly instalments before the next financial year. “If they fail to make the payment by the deadline, they will have to pay the amount, along with interest amount in future,” he said.

Biometric attendance system at 104 service stations

To ensure punctuality and attendance of its nearly 1,500 staff spread across 104 service stations, BWSSB plans to introduce the Biometric Attendance System.

“The Assistant Engineer, Valve man, meter man and maintenance staff at each service station will have to register their attendance on these machines as soon as they report for duty in future,” said P N Ravindra, Executive Engineer (EE) New Initiatives and New Water Division.

“Tenders have been called for installation of these machines at each of the service stations and they are likely to be in place within three months.”

“The attendance will be monitored at the Head Office using GPS technology,” he added. Biometric system of marking attendance is already in place at BWSSB’s 100 Divisional and Sub-divisional offices.

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