The audit report for the water and sewerage department compiled by the municipal chief auditor suggests that the department incurred losses in revenue worth at least Rs373.49 crore.
Last year, lapses in the department’s functioning led to a loss of at least Rs373 crore
While the BMC has set in motion the highly publicised ‘Sujal Mumbai Mission’ to make 24x7 water supply available in the city, an internal audit report reveals that the hydraulic department continues to bleed several hundred crores of taxpayer money owing to functional lapses.
The audit report for the water and sewerage department compiled by the municipal chief auditor suggests that the department incurred losses in revenue worth at least Rs373.49 crore. The report for the last fiscal year will be tabled before the BMC’s standing committee on December 19.
Non-recovery of water and sewerage charges from government departments, including state and central government-run offices, the railways, Mumbai Port Trust, BEST, and municipal ward offices alone run into Rs187 crore. The department is yet to recover charges amounting to Rs6.91 crore from its ward offices. It is also yet to recover Rs26 crore from 10,672 recovery cases.
The municipal chief auditor has come down hard on the trend of borrowing money through loans from external agencies for the department’s work despite registering a record surplus of Rs1655.22 crore. According to the report, only 6.55 per cent of funds accumulated through the Asset Replacement and Rehabilitation Fund were used.
While only 53.45 per cent of water meters in the city are functional, the department spent Rs94 lakh in employing staff at meter workshops in Byculla and Ghatkopar. Non-issue of water and sewerage bills, the report said, causes a loss of another Rs2.45 crore.
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