Bill arrears: KWA likely to go for prepaid meters

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) board has directed the officials in its operations wing to conduct a study about the possibility of implementing prepaid meters as bill defaulters have been remaining a cause for concern.
Defaulters owe KWA a whopping sum of nearly Rs 1,000 crore, according to estimates till March 31.
The arrears from industrial connections alone add up to Rs 7.53 crore. There are as many as 1,700 industrial water connections in Thiruvananthapuram. In the non-domestic sector, bills worth Rs 600 crore are pending; of which Rs 343 crore is to be paid by government departments. There are nearly two-lakh non-domestic connections (shops, hospitals etc) in the district. In the domestic sector, the bill arrears amount to the tune of Rs 355 crore. KWA has 35.93-lakh domestic connections in Thiruvananthapuram.
There are 108 customers in industrial and non-domestic sectors, who are yet to clear bills worth Rs 1 crore each.
In the board meeting, discussions were held on the huge amounts of arrears and there were strong recommendations to go ahead with installing pre-paid meters at least in the industrial sector in the initial stage. KWA believes that installing prepaid meters will enhance cash flow and encourage a more responsible use of water among customers as money is paid in advance.
An official of KWA told TOI on condition of anonymity: “Water is an essential commodity for all and getting it is their right. Water cannot be disconnected if one does not pay the bill. However, in the industrial and non-domestic sector we can take strict measures, even disconnection, against defaulters. A final decision is yet to be taken in this regard as we are studying the feasibility of installing prepaid meters.”
The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has already installed prepaid meters for better energy supply and enhanced operational efficiency. “Energy and water are two different commodities. We must look at various angles before deciding on it,” said the official.
If the study report is favourable, KWA will go ahead with installing prepaid meters at selected industrial areas.