MCC moots new plan to collect water bill dues

• Interest will be ‘kept in abeyance’ for six months if pending bills are paid at one go by consumers
• There will be no compound interest or additional interest on due amount for domestic connections

Mysore/Mysuru: The cash-strapped Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has come up with a new plan to collect pending water bill dues that have reached a whopping Rs. 220 crore. As per the scheme, if the bills are paid in one go, the interest on the amount will be kept in abeyance (baddi nischalathe in Kannada) for six months and compound interest and additional interest will not be levied on that amount.

The State Government is yet to take a decision on waiving the interest levied on the water bills. Addressing a press conference at MCC Office this morning,  In-Charge Mayor Sunanda Palanetra said that the MCC has a total of 1,80,000 water connections. Of that 40,000 are illegal connections and over 12,000 have faulty meters.

“These 52,000 connections are burdening the MCC and steps are being taken to regularise the connections and special drives have been conducted in the past asking residents to rectify faulty meters,” she said.

While 270 million litres of water is supplied to the residents of Mysuru city daily, only 160 million litres are accounted for, while the remaining water is being used through illegal connections.

The total pending water bills amount to Rs. 220 crore and of that, Rs. 146 crore is the actual bill amount while Rs. 74 crore is the interest amount. “Of the Rs. 146 crore, Rs. 108 crore has to be paid by domestic consumers. From July 15, we are launching a special bill payment plan where the interest on the water bill will be kept in abeyance for six months if the bill is paid in one go. Compound interest or additional interest will not be levied till the six-month period,” the Mayor said.

“The interest amount will be in abeyance till the Government decides on the MCC’s proposal to waive the Rs. 74 crore interest. The MCC has written to the Government for the waiver and the decision is awaited. If the Government decides to waive the interest, it is well and good and if it decides against it, we will wait for the order on collecting the interest,” Sunanda Palanetra explained.

This facility is available for only those who pay the pending bill in one go and only for domestic connections and not for commercial and industrial connections, she added.

For example, as per the MCC’s plan, if a resident has a pending bill of Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 3,000 interest on that amount, he can pay the Rs. 10,000 in one go and the MCC will keep the Rs. 3,000 interest in abeyance for six months and compound interest or additional interest will not be levied on it. Later the interest will be levied as per the Government’s decision.  

MCC Commissioner G. Lakshmikantha Reddy said that on average, over 2,000 to 2,500 new water connections are being provided every month in all areas. “Those who have faulty water meters must rectify the same and buy new ones. The MCC is not responsible for it and in case such meters are detected a three-time penalty on the water bill is being levied,” he said. 

Mayor grant of Rs. 50 lakh

A Mayoral grant of Rs. 50 lakh will be given to each of the 65 MCC wards and the decision on spending the amount will be with the Ward Corporator. “Rs. 50 lakh each will be given to each Ward and the money can be spent at the discretion of the Corporator,” the Mayor said.

This decision has been taken as in the past, several Corporators complained that the Mayoral grant has been disbursed selectively and only two Assembly Constituencies got the lion’s share and several Wards have not received any money despite being in need.