BENGALURU: It seems defaulters of Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) who ignore the board’s appeals and notices need only police notice to fall in line as notices issued by Bengaluru Metropolitan Task Force (BMTF) has made the BWSSB richer by Rs 20 crore since 2018. According to Ramachandra Rao, ADGP, BMTF, the agency, despite minimal staff, is managing government properties in and around Bengaluru. Be it BBMP, BDA or BWSSB, the agency is helping the government reclaim its properties and also get back the revenue which is due.
“For BWSSB, since 2018, the agency registered 347 non-cognisable reports which led to revenue collection to the tune of Rs 14,04,85,187 crore and after FIRs, another Rs 5,29,52,931 crore was earned. Many customers who take other agencies for granted are pulled up and when once police notice reaches them, they yield,” said Rao.
The nature of complaints vary from non-payment of dues and unauthorised connections to non-payment of penalties which get resolved after BMTF’s intervention. “We don’t deny that many complaints are filed, but not all complaints reach BMTF as many are resolved by the water board itself. Only in extreme cases, BMTF is approached,” said N Jayaram, Chairman, BWSSB.
He added that big property owners and some apartment complexes who want to avoid paying heavy pro-rata charges (one-time service charge) take illegal connections. For one sq metre it is Rs 600. To avoid paying huge amounts, customers cheat BWSSB and hence cases are filed against them. “BMTF is approached only against customers who do not comply with BWSSB rules,” said a senior BWSSB official.