State defers Water Board payments
HMWS&SB asked to collect bills from users
The one-time settlement of pending bills announced by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is receiving lukewarm response. Out of the total `1,700 crore arrears, government agencies owe the Water Board
`1,200 crore. Citing fund crunch, the government agencies are in no mood to clear arrears and asked the water body to focus on collecting the bills from consumers. The consumers themselves have largely ignored the scheme.
The government on July
28 had released G.O. No. 307 pertaining to the One Time Amnesty Scheme (OTAS). It ordered a waiver of 90 per cent accumulated arrears on water bills provided consumers clear the principal amounts for financial year
2019-20 with 10 per cent interest on arrears.
The scheme came into effect from August 1 and will end on September 15. Despite vigorous campaigning the HMWS&SB managed to collect just about `5 lakh. Asked for the reason, a HMWS&SB official said that lion’s share of arrears belong to government organisations including the electricity department, Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority, Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited and several other nodal agencies in the city.
The authorities said that citing the Covid-19 outbreak, several government organisations had been refusing to avail the OTAS which putting `1,200 crore at stake. The government has asked the Water Board to focus on residential and commercial consumers to collect `200 crore by the end of the scheme against the target of `500 crore.
A senior Water Board official requesting anonymity said that the HMWS&SB would go bankrupt if the state government does not come to its rescue by issuing orders to clear arrears for all nodal agencies. He said that the board would lose a major share of revenues if it only concentrates on residential and commercial consumers.
“In their high-level meetings, the government agencies have hinted that the bills would be waived by the year end. On the flip side, the government has decided to regularise all illegal water connections pertaining to residential and commercial consumers. The government is most likely
going to increase water tariff during next financial year to enhance the Water Board’s revenues,” the official added.
The government has also waived 90 per cent interest on property for the financial year 2019-20 prior to the GHMC elections.
The MA&UD department said that `1,477.86 crore arrears with interest of `1017.6 crore have accumulated over a period of 15 to 20 years in the GHMC. The civic authorities said that it has been receiving lukewarm response from the taxpayers with the misconception that the government would waive the arrears by the year end.