Mysuru: A staggering Rs. 252 crore in water bill arrears owed to the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) remains uncollected, with the majority of defaulters being Government Departments. The list of pending dues is growing endlessly, prompting MCC officials to form multiple teams with set targets to expedite collection. To counter the financial strain, the MCC has also suspended some ongoing projects.

Gram Panchayats (GP) alone owe Rs. 23.63 crore (Rs. 23,63,76,066), followed by the Railways with Rs. 19.92 crore (Rs. 19,92,35,832), Department of Education with Rs. 1.42 crore (Rs. 1,42,71,139), Department of Health and Family Welfare with Rs. 1.73 crore (Rs. 1,73,12,152), City Police with Rs. 8.04 crore (Rs. 8,04,80,123) and District Police with Rs. 1.31 crore (Rs. 1,31,80,902).

In addition, several lakhs of rupees are pending from Public Works Department (PWD), Department of Prisons & Correctional Services, Department of Social Welfare, Department of Small Scale Industries, Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) Ltd., and Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL), posing a significant challenge for the MCC.

MCC Commissioner Shaikh Tanveer Asif convened a meeting with officials from Vani Vilas Water Works (VVWW), the water supply wing of MCC, instructing them to expedite the collection of outstanding water bills and issuing notices to defaulters before forming dedicated teams for  arrears’ collection.

Meanwhile, VVWW officials assured that drinking water supply in MCC limits would not be impacted during summer. They confirmed that daily water needs are being met and work on Hale Unduwadi drinking water project, aimed at providing water to Mysuru and surrounding villages, is progressing as planned.