The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Water board mulls flat rates in notified slums

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Jul 28, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Water board mulls flat rates in notified slums

By K.V.S. Madhav

HYDERABAD, JULY 27. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) is planning to introduce monthly flat rate billing for domestic water and sewerage connections in notified slums. The move may come through in August.

There are 800 notified slums, where the minimum charge collected is Rs. 120 - Rs. 90 for water supply and Rs. 30 for sewerage as against the differential rate of Rs. 150 to Rs. 160.

"In a majority of cases, there are no meters to gauge the consumption. It is common knowledge that 30 to 40 per cent of water connections are illegal, a majority of them in the slums. Doing the rounds of the slums for billing and collection of bills, we end up with an expenditure of Rs. 40 or so per connection. It is better to have a flat rate, which will benefit both the consumer and also the board," the HMWSSB Managing Director, B.P. Acharya told The Hindu .

Twin objective

The move comes in the wake of the board making renewed efforts to regularise the large number of illegal connections and also increase the number of new connections to bolster its revenue base. "From the rationing regime, when water was in short supply, to a proper distribution regime now, we are trying to consolidate our financial position banking on the comfortable water reserves. Now is the time to look into aspects like revenue generation and maximising the system infrastructure, which have been put on the backburner due to water shortage," he explained. The flat rate for monthly bills and the Rs. 1,200 scheme for new water connections announced by the Government, HMWSSB officials hope, would go a long way in not only streamlining the system but also filling the coffers.

Data being collected

The board is at present collating details of the 800 notified slums. There are 2,000 to 3,000 connections on an average in smaller slums and about 5,000 in bigger slums, all accounting to about 50,000 connections of the 4.5 lakh connections in the twin cities and surrounding municipalities. "We want to bring everyone into the HMWSSB fold, many of whom are eluding us," he maintained.

With the Municipal Administration Minister, Koneru Ranga Rao, announcing a two-month deadline for regularisation of water connections at a flat rate of Rs. 500, board authorities see greater hope. But, the water board chief has a word of caution - the flat rate cannot be extended to all - referring to the 1,100 odd slums that are not notified.

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