BANGALORE: Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Thursday that the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board needed a major overhaul and that a tariff hike was necessary for the board’s survival. In his reply to BJP member Bharathi Shetty during the Question Hour in the Legislative Council, he said, “Tariffs were not enhanced for the last nine years.”
He said the board’s power bills amount to `400 crore and it bears overheads. The board had been asked to study tariffs in other states, he said, and assured that “there will be no summary decision on the issue”.
He said only 52 per cent of the water being supplied is being billed and the rest of the water is not accounted for. The board has been asked to plug pilferage and improve revenue collection. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is helping in this endeavour.
The board is disconnecting illegal water connections and taking measures to regularise illegal connections by collecting penalties.