Bengaluru: The BWSSB is struggling to recover dues worth a whopping Rs 650 crore from various categories of consumers, according to data accessed by DH, preventing the government utility from undertaking future projects that are needed to cater to the needs of a rapidly growing city.
The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board says it can't cut water supply as it is a basic necessity, revealing its helplessness. The board chief said a "drive" would be undertaken to recover the amount from defaulters, ranging from defence organisations to Indira Canteens.
To put the matter into perspective, BWSSB’s monthly revenue ranges between Rs 130 crore and Rs 150 crore, while the pending dues are almost five times that amount.
Residential consumers top the defaulters chart, owing Rs 288 crore; commercial establishments follow with dues to the tune of Rs 184 crore; various state and central government agencies are cumulatively sitting on dues close to Rs 176 crore.
These dues have blown a hole in the BWSSB finances, given that the board depends completely on revenue collection from consumers to run day-to-day operations. To add to its woes, the government has also not approved the board’s proposal to increase water tariff, and the piling arrears are only adding to the financial stress, officials said.
“At present, the board is highly dependent on the revenue collected from the consumers," a senior BWSSB official said. "Since there has not been an increase in tariff, it is important that we improve our revenue collection efficiency. Since water is a basic necessity, we are finding it difficult to cut supply to recover.”
Sources revealed that many influential people have dues that piled up over the years, but officials cannot recover them owing to their positions.
“Indira canteens, many hospitals, defense establishments, and many such organisations have pending dues. Though we have served numerous notices, there has been hardly any response,” another official said.
BWSSB Chairman Ramprasat Manohar V said that the board is discussing the issue with the government and plans to take up a special drive soon.
“We are pursuing this with the Additional Chief Secretary and have requested for meetings with various departments. Most of these are dues from previous years and hence recovery is taking time. We will also conduct a special drive and speed up the recovery process,” he said.