Stung by scam, MBMC floats idea of digital water meters

Stung by the misdeeds and corrupt practises of their own personnel, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) has now floated the idea of upgrading the existing analogue water meters to its digital version.

Citizens are supposed to be charged for the water as per the usage, however thanks to the shoddy mechanism and corruption prevailing in the water supply department, around 50 per cent of water bills across the twincity is calculated based on self-implied estimations.

A section of water meter readers are under the scanner of investigations for their suspected involvement in playing truant with the billing mechanism by manipulating readings and fulfilling their selfish monetary motives.

To do away with manual errors and deliberate manipulations, the civic administration will introduce “smart” electronic meters along with a software that will digitally calculate water consumption and make the billing process in the twin-city transparent. “We will table a proposal in the upcoming general body meeting and after getting a nod will ensure that the process to install digital meters in a phase-wise manner is started as soon as possible,” confirmed Executive Engineer Suresh Vakode.

The system is similar to “smart meters” used for electrical readings that enables the measurement of detailed, time-based recording with an added ability to share the data with customers. Out of the 40,203 water users, 2,984 connections fall in the commercial category.