SCB terminates 5,000 water connections

The Secunderabad Cantonment Board (SCB) has cracked the whip on water tax defaulters to recover dues and improve their financial position by the end of the financial year. So far, the SCB has severed 5,000 connections that were either illegal or had large dues.

Water works superintendent M Rajkumar of the SCB said that another 3,000 illegal connections in the SCB had been identified and red notices were being served.“The SCB owes the Water Board a whopping Rs 23 crore. If all arrears are recovered and illegal connections are regularised, the SCB will receive close to Rs 30 to 35 crore.

However, regularisation of connections has received a poor response. Now we have no alternative but to conduct intensive recovery drives and terminate the connections wherever the dues are high,” Rajkumar informed.“If all the consumers pay their dues promptly, the SCB will get Rs 2 crore per month.

The monthly expenditure of the Board would be around Rs 1.6 crore, which leaves a surplus of Rs 40 lakh that could be used for development works and clearing dues in a phased manner.” Rajkumar said.On the shortage of water supply in the SCB, Rajkumar said, “As per the SCB and Water Board’s MoU the latter had to supply 53 lakh gallons per day (LGPD) to cover all the eight wards, basthis and slums in the SCB. But the supply is only 43 LPGD, hence the shortage.” The board aims to collect a total of Rs 20 crore in 2015-16 to provide drinking water and better bore water facilities.