Given the huge debts, the board has to act now. The financial crisis will only intensify if measures are not taken to strengthen the board
The BWSSB has been pushing for a hike in water tariff for years now. BWSSB chairman PB Ramamurthy said again this week that a proposal will be sent to the government in the next fortnight to affect the hike.
The BWSSB has tried to make a case for the hike, saying that power tariffs have been revised twice in the last 10 years while water tariff has stayed the same. Ramamurthy noted that if the cost of a unit of power goes up by 88 paise, the BWSSB would end up paying 75% of its revenue on buying power alone.
Recently, employees of BWSSB sent a proposal to the government seeking revision of the water tariff. They, too, said power bills were draining the BWSSB revenue and the staff was suffering as a result. At least `25 crore (40%) of the `40 crore of the BWSSB’s monthly revenue is used up for power. If the cost of pumping water to the city goes up further, the BWSSB will be stressed, said a BWSSB engineer.
The BWSSB is unable to use funds to repay its loans. It still pays interest on the Rs1,300 crore loan for the implementation of Cauvery Fourth Stage Phase I. For Phase II, the board has borrowed Rs2,800 crore. Of this, the water component is Rs1,860 crore, for which the interest will be levied from 2014 and for the rest it will be begin from 2015.
Given these huge debts, the board has to act now. The financial crisis will only intensify if measures are not taken to strengthen the board, said engineers.
Debts have been mounting and this has had an impact on the interests of employees too. Their needs are not being looked into by the cash-strapped board and employees sent a complaint letter to the government recently. One of their foremost demands is that employees, who complete 24 years of service without a promotion, should be given an increment. Demands such as these are not easily met due to lack of funds.
The BWSSB is suffering losses in other areas too. It has been deploying its resources to service a few areas in the city’s peripheries, but there’s no pay-off.
“We are supplying water to a few areas on a small scale. We are not being allowed to bill consumers for the same. A few elected representatives are taking advantage of the situation. They have been stalling the bill collection by arguing that all residents have to receive Cauvery water and only then the BWSSB can collect money. Let alone being paid for its services, the BWSSB is suffering losses in these areas as it incurs expenses on maintenance and infrastructure,” said an official.
However, the BWSSB is yet to decide on the percentage of hike. A meeting will be held soon to discuss the same, he said.
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