<p>Bengaluru: By matching consumer databases from Bescom and BWSSB, the water authority has identified nearly 43,000 illegal sewage connections in the past two months.</p>.<p>The discovery includes 383 large apartment complexes.</p>.<p>A few months ago, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had urged citizens to voluntarily disclose and regularise illegal connections.</p>.<p>"We compared Bescom and BWSSB connections and got a list of possible violators. Our field teams then conducted inspections to confirm illegal connections,” BWSSB Chairman Ramprasat Manohar V told <em>DH</em>.</p>.BBMP's flood project tenders scrapped over graft allegations .<p>Notices have been issued and penalties imposed after snapping the connections. Sources estimate the total fines may touch Rs 100 crore.</p>.<p>Many violators are large apartment complexes, with penalties ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore, a senior official said.</p>.<p>“In several cases, builders or developers took the connections, and residents were unaware. However, due to the scale, heavy penalties are unavoidable,” the official added.</p>.<p>The violators had connected their sanitary lines to the BWSSB’s underground drainage (UGD) network without formal approval. Though many depend on water tankers or borewells, they often link sewage lines illegally to the UGD.</p>.<p>This results in revenue loss and increases the load on the system.</p>.<p>“If the load increases, we must widen pipelines and take other measures to maintain capacity. With illegal connections, we cannot assess the load, which burdens the infrastructure,” another official said.</p>.<p>The BWSSB is willing to regularise these connections if violators pay the fine and applicable connection charges.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: By matching consumer databases from Bescom and BWSSB, the water authority has identified nearly 43,000 illegal sewage connections in the past two months.</p>.<p>The discovery includes 383 large apartment complexes.</p>.<p>A few months ago, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) had urged citizens to voluntarily disclose and regularise illegal connections.</p>.<p>"We compared Bescom and BWSSB connections and got a list of possible violators. Our field teams then conducted inspections to confirm illegal connections,” BWSSB Chairman Ramprasat Manohar V told <em>DH</em>.</p>.BBMP's flood project tenders scrapped over graft allegations .<p>Notices have been issued and penalties imposed after snapping the connections. Sources estimate the total fines may touch Rs 100 crore.</p>.<p>Many violators are large apartment complexes, with penalties ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore, a senior official said.</p>.<p>“In several cases, builders or developers took the connections, and residents were unaware. However, due to the scale, heavy penalties are unavoidable,” the official added.</p>.<p>The violators had connected their sanitary lines to the BWSSB’s underground drainage (UGD) network without formal approval. Though many depend on water tankers or borewells, they often link sewage lines illegally to the UGD.</p>.<p>This results in revenue loss and increases the load on the system.</p>.<p>“If the load increases, we must widen pipelines and take other measures to maintain capacity. With illegal connections, we cannot assess the load, which burdens the infrastructure,” another official said.</p>.<p>The BWSSB is willing to regularise these connections if violators pay the fine and applicable connection charges.</p>