HYDERABAD: With the 20,000 litre free water scheme rolled out officially, HMWS&SB will soon carry out a door-to-door survey to crack down on illegal water connections in the city.
Criminal cases will be booked against households having illegal water connections. Either they could regularise them or face criminal action, warned HMWS&SB’s vigilance wing.
Water board officials were yet to ascertain the number of illegal water connections in the city and GHMC periphery. However, based on feedback from ground-level staff, officials estimate there could be two to three lakh illegal connections apart from 10.80 lakh official connections.
Official records reveal there were 10.80 lakh consumers and they have consumer account numbers (CANs). Accordingly, the water board had been issuing monthly water bills till the new scheme came into force.
“A door-to-door survey is the only solution to identify illegal water connections. In case, the consumers come forward to regularise the illegal water connections, we have no objection,” HMWS&SB chief general manager-revenue (in-charge) TV Sridhar told STOI.
Once these illegal water connections get regularised, then they would be allotted CANs too as it is mandatory that consumers have to fix water meters to avail the free water scheme, the official clarified.
When TOI contacted HMWS&SB chief vigilance officer, M Ravi Chandan Reddy, he said, “Till now, our vigilance wing had booked 273 FIRs against water thieves for having illegal water connections and seized 700 electric motors for drawing water illegally.
In fact, hundreds of consumers had utilised the voluntary disclosure scheme (VDS) to regularise illegal water connections too. Of 11,000 applications received from 21 operation and maintenance (O&M) divisions for regularising illegal water connections under VDS, 5,000 water connections have been regularised and remaining were under consideration, the vigilance official said.
Replying to a query about the free water scheme applicable to illegal water connections holders, the official said, “We will intensify raids on the property owners and punish them according to IPC sections.”
HMWS&SB is currently supplying 580 million gallons of water per day to its consumers on alternate days.