Move to appoint politician as BWSSB chief opposed

State government’s decision to appoint Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) secretary C H Chinnaswamy as chairman of BWSSB has invited the criticism of the employees’ association of the water board.

The members of the association fear that with the appointment of a politician, the water board may suffer the fate of Mysore Lamps and NGEF, which ran into huge losses before being closed. 

Objecting to the decision, association president Rudre Gowda, said,  “As per the BWSSB Act, the chairperson of the Board must fulfill certain eligibility criteria to hold the post. Chapter II of the BWSSB Act, 1964, says that a person with wide experience of civil engineering works or a person who has experience of accounting and financial matters in a public utility undertaking should be appointed as the chairman of the Board.

“In the past 50 years, the chairman of BWSSB has always been a person from the administrative cadre (IAS) or a former BWSSB chief engineer. But now the government wants to appoint a person who has no qualification or the expertise, as required under the relevant laws,” added Rudre Gowda.

The Board, which is already reeling under heavy losses due to multiple factors, is finding it tough to cope with the demands of fast-growing City. Now, a political appointment will only turn the situation from bad to worse.

Meanwhile, the state government had already passed a government order (GO) appointing C H Chinnaswamy as the chairman, but the GO has been kept under abeyance.  Sources from the Chief Minister’s office said that the government has made up its mind to go ahead with its decision.