The BWSSB does not know whether to smile or fret over the situation. The Board has never seen so many consumers paying pro-rata charges for water and sanitary connections as in the case of new BBMP areas for connections under the new Cauvery project. The funds collected are significant for the BWSSB, which is in a cash crunch. The Board’s liabilities are growing with the commissioning of the new Cauvery water project – Cauvery Water Supply Scheme Stage IV Phase II – just round the corner. The Board’s power bills are estimated to go up by 50 per cent once the 500 MLD (million litres a day) project takes off.
The pro-rata charges are in addition to connection charges and are applicable to buildings that are big and have violated building norms. This is in addition to the fixed sum of Rs 2,040 that every consumer has to pay as connection charge, meter deposit and meter cost. “The high number of consumers falling under the category is because of unchecked development in new areas, which have developed a lot but haphazardly. Majority of the buildings either do not have a proper building plan or do not follow the plan that was sanctioned. There was hardly any restriction on development in the new areas. The Floor-to-Area (FAR) rule was seldom followed. That is why most building owners in these areas have to pay pro-rata charges,” a senior BWSSB official said.