CHENNAI: Commercial high-rise buildings (g+4 buildings) in the city will soon be fixed with water meters and charged on the basis of amount of water they consume. The Chennai Metrowater Supply and Sewerage Board is all set to fix metres in more than 12,500 buildings.
According to a senior official in the CMSSB, the board received tender applications for this `9.5-crore project, which have been proposed as part of the Smart City Mission.
“Once the tender is awarded, implementation will begin in a few months,” said the senior official.
Officials claimed that the move to install metres would stop wastage of water as each litre consumed will reflect in the monthly bill. Currently, water-intensive commercial connections have a monthly base price as low as `1200. Domestic connections have a base price of `80. However, these base prices will become redundant, once the metres are in place. “New slabs will be decided,” said an official, assuring there wouldn’t be any exorbitant pricing “as the move is not aimed at just generating more revenue.”
Based on the performance of the bulk metres in reducing wastage of water, officials said that metres would be fitted for domestic connections as well in a few years. Metrowater attempted to fit connections with metres in 1999, but the effort failed after many metres had faults. However, officials claimed that the metres, which would be fitted this time around, would be able to detect leaks.