For the first time, some 4,000 premises in Hyderabad will have to start paying monthly sewerage connections charges. They include halls, malls, hotels and office complexes that are connected to the city’s sewerage system, but get water from tankers. Sewerage costs are paid through a 35 per cent surcharge on water supply tariffs.
As many as 4,000 premises in the city have taken sewerage connections after paying the due charges but they are not paying any monthly charges for the last 20 years.
The [Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB)] has now wakened to the loss it has suffered all these years and decided to bring these premises under the tax net.
Usually the Board collects 35 per cent of the charges levied for supplied water as sewerage cess.
All the 7.35 lakh [735,000] connections are paying both the water and sewerage charges while the 4,000 premises which don’t take the Board’s water but use its sewerage network are not paying a single pie.
The Board has now come up with a separate sewerage tariff policy covering both residential, commercial and institutional premises.
Any premises with plinth area up to 80 sq. mt will not be charged anything while areas between 81 to 200 sq. mt have to pay Rs. 50 [US$ 1.07] per month.
The maximum charges are up to Rs. 10,000 [US$ 214] and above for hotels and guest houses depending on the number of rooms.
The Board is now in the process of feeding the data of the 4,000 premises in its system so that the bill could be generated automatically.
“By month end we will start levying the charges,” said K. Ashok Reddy, executive director, HMWSSB.
Once the existing sewerage connections are covered, the Board plans to go after the illegal ones. For this, it is proposed to take the help of GHMC property tax data to check each and every premises.
The Board wants to raise more money by regularising illegal connections.
The scheme of voluntary disclosure of illegal connections will begin from July 15 and will close on September 14.
The connection charges will be levied as per the plot area, apart from 60 days of water consumption charges and one year’s minimum water consumption charges will be levied as penalty as per the prevailing tariff, informed a release.
The Board will also levy Rs.500 [US$ 10.70] towards Green Brigade charges and rain harvesting charges as per board norms.
Applicants can enter the details of their existing connections on the water board website and find out charges to be paid for regularisation. The process will be done after making a payment through a D.D. drawn in favour of HMWSSB from any nationalised bank.
Source: J.S. Ifthekhar, The Hindu, 07 Jul 2010 ; The Hindu, 10 Jul 2010
