BANGALORE: Director of Municipal Administration B.P. Kaniram on Tuesday said that all options pertaining to the operation and maintenance of the Greater Bangalore Water Supply Project (GBWASP) are still under examination and no final decision has been taken by the State Government.

He said that any decision taken would keep in mind the satisfactory delivery of service at the least cost and in the best interests of the citizens of the urban local bodies, the ultimate beneficiaries of the GBWASP project.

The project, he said, was conceived to supply Cauvery water and providing underground drainage to the eight urban local bodies around the city. "This project is planned at a cost of Rs. 660 crores and is being executed by the BWSSB which provides such services in Bangalore city. The project area for the eight urban local bodies around Bangalore will be about 285 square kilometres, which is more than the area presently handled by the BWSSB," he said.

The operation and maintenance options being examined included maintenance by a management contractor / BWSSB / ULB. "If the option of management contractor is considered, he would be selected through a transparent bidding process and he would be working on behalf of BWSSB only."

Mr. Kaniram said the contractor would have no role to play in the fixation of water tariff. "The water tariff will continue to be fixed by the BWSSB and the BWSSB / ULB will continue to own the assets of the project, irrespective of the decision on the operations and maintenance option," he said.

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