Chennai metro water supply and sewerage board (CMWSSB) officials have said people in the 42 local bodies merged with Chennai corporation recently would be brought under its water and sewerage tax
net within the next six months.
Their inclusion in the metro tax net would be formally completed once the consultancy, which would be finalised on Wednesday, submits its report on taking over the assets and liabilities of the added areas and integrating their accounts with CMWSSB, the officials told Deccan Chronicle.
The consultancy is expected to submit the report within four months maximum, the officials pointed out.
They added that the reason for employing the consultancy was to bring the added areas under the CMWSSB tax net and provide civic amenities on a par with areas of the older city at the earliest.
Currently, the added areas are being taxed as per the slab fixed by their local bodies.
However, Chennai metro water supply and sewerage board would have its work cut out as there would be heightened expectation among the residents of the new areas in terms of civic amenities.
According to an earlier estimate, Chennai metro water supply and sewerage board would be facing a shortage of up to 300 mld (million litres per day) in meeting the drinking water requirements of an expanded Chennai, which would increase from 176 sq km to 424 sq km.
Areas like Nanganallur, Ullagaram, and Alandur, part of suburban Chennai which envisaged provision of underground drainage projects even before the merger with the corporation have gained an edge over the rest of the added areas as the laying of UGD pipelines and preliminary works for drinking water projects have already started.