Not just water leaks, BWSSB must plug corruption, too

Meters manipulated, bills regenerated to help bulk consumers

Amidst the tussle over sharing the Cauvery river water, the city has been a mute spectator to the inefficient water management system that is getting worse each day. The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) continues to lose a whopping Rs 30 crore every month due to ill-administration, a result of the nexus between officers and bulk consumers, besides the water leaks.

“The nexus is so deep-rooted that it’s they who decide the change of officers, both in the BWSSB sub-divisions and main office. Most of the water meter readers and meter inspectors have amassed huge wealth, only to dupe the Board”, a senior BWSSB official told DH.

The BWSSB supplies 1,350 million litres per day (MLD) of water to 9 lakh domestic and non-domestic connections. Of this, about 750 MLD of water goes unaccounted, due to two reasons - commercial loss (20%) and physical loss (25%).

“The commercial losses are due to “managerial issues which can be tackled with effective management. However, the physical losses require huge investments and replacement of pipes. BWSSB has the potential to increase revenue from the present Rs 99 crore to Rs 160 crore every month with the same water tariffs, by setting its house in order,” an official of the Board said.

Things can be rectified with good administration and nothing else, says BWSSB former engineer M N Thippeswamy. “Meters are being manipulated in all possible ways. The BWSSB should outsource this work to a third party with fixed collection of revenue based on the volume of water supplied. There will be 25% increase in revenue collection if this is done,” he said.

Another official suggests the use of mobile-based application for residents to generate water bill without the intervention of meter readers and inspectors. This can minimise corruption, he adds.

In the last six months, the non-domestic bills have been regenerated in 2,160 instances. This is usually done when there are errors in the bill. However, it is also a strategy to negotiate with bulk consumers and manipulate the meters in exchange of money at the field level, a BWSSB official said. With an average of 300 such instances each month, the amount paid against the bills regenerated could be very less. An enquiry will reveal that BWSSB might have lost revenue of at least Rs 10 crore, he adds.

BWSSB chairman Tushar Girinath said he would order an enquiry in this regard. “Calling a meeting of officers has fetched no result. They point out different reasons for the loss. Hence, we have fixed bulk meters at the sub-division level to ascertain the volume of water supplied. This will give an idea of the real loss and corruption,” he said.