Fee For New BWSSB Lines Likely to Double

BENGALURU: New water connections will be dearer as the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board plans to double its current one-time fees.

The hike was mooted at a board meeting at Cauvery Bhavan on Wednesday.

G Kumar Naik, BBMP Commissioner, D Satya Murty, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Development Department, Anjum Parwez, BWSSB Chairman, and top officials attended the meeting.

The pro-rata (proportional) one-time fee is calculated on each square metre of built-up area. It is now Rs 150 for houses, Rs 200 for multi-storeyed apartments and Rs 300 for commercial establishments.

“The proposal moots a pro-rata fee of about Rs 300 for single houses, Rs 400 for apartments and Rs 600 for commercial establishments,” said a top source.

The current rates were fixed in 2008.

“This is not an arbitrary increase out of the blue,” the source stressed. “It has been calculated scientifically.”

Inflation and RBI indices have been taken into account, and the proposal will be sent to the state government for approval, the source said.

The proposal may take up to two months to come into effect.

Meanwhile, the board has decided to give those who have not paid the one-time fee one last chance to pay at the current rates, the source said.

A huge number of defaulters live in the newly added BBMP areas, he explained.