MCC: 48,000 unmetered water connections in Mysuru city

MYSURU: The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), already saddled with water tax dues amounting to more than Rs 200 crore, now has to grapple with yet another challenge – the problem of unmetered water connections.
An official from Vani Vilas Water Works (VVWW), the water-supplying arm of MCC, earlier said that about 48,000 unmetered or non-functional meters had been identified in the city and that measures were being taken to install new ones.
Domestic consumers who had not installed water meters or had defunct meters were charged an extra 10% tax as a penalty, while commercial and industrial consumers were charged 200% extra usage charges for the same offence.To address these issues, nearly 30,000 new meters were installed during the fiscal.
In spite of the punitive measures, MCC is still finding it difficult to tackle the issue in some localities, including slums, where many households have been identified with unmetered water connections, official said. Mayor Shivakumar said interests comprise Rs 70 crore out of the total overdue amount.
Suvarna, the executive engineer at VVWW, said the consumers themselves need to replace defunct meters and get a seal of approval on the new ones from the authorities. The officer appealed to the public to have new water meters installed.
Meanwhile, in an attempt to shore up collection of water tax and encourage consumers to clear their dues, MCC has planned to offer a reprieve on the interest payable on overdue amounts, though the measure has so far met with only lukewarm response. An official said, so far, only 4,500 consumers have taken the offer, with VVWW mopping up a meagre Rs 4 crore in revenue. New measures are under consideration to ensure collection of tax dues.
Shivakumar admitted that water consumers did not respond to the MCC scheme that allowed payment of the principal dues in one go, keeping the interest on hold until the government decided on the proposal.