A proposal to privatise water supply and distribution in a few areas in the city has kicked up a row with union leaders threatening to disrupt the daily water supply if the government does not abandon the privatisation proposal. Though privatising water supply was first proposed in 2000-01, during the Telugu Desam regime, it was kept in abeyance following sharp criticism that the then ruling party was dancing to the tunes of the World Bank.
In 2010, privatisation of at least a single operation and maintenance division in the city was mooted, but the unions shot it down. The current privatisation proposal too has been opposed by the Water Works Employees’ Union. “The idea is to give a private agency the responsibility of water supply and distribution in areas falling under one storage-cum-supply reservoir. Currently, nearly 40 per cent of the total 240 MGD water being supplied every day is unaccounted for. The agency would have to take steps and ensure that every drop of water is accounted for. At present, the Water Board is getting only 60 per cent revenue from water being supplied from a reservoir in surrounding municipalities. However, this proposal has never materialised,” a Water Board official said.
The Water Works Employees’ Union joint general secretary S. Sudhakar says already 50 per cent of the billing and monthly water bill payment collection has been outsourced. “We served a strike notice on Water Board’s managing director on Monday. If the privatisation proposal is not withdrawn, we will disrupt the daily water supply,” he warned.