Mysuru civic body yet to collect Rs 220 crore water bill dues
Mayor Sunanda Palanetra
Mysuru: A whopping Rs 220 crore water bill dues are to be paid by the residents in the city. There are 1,80,000 households with water connections in the heritage city. The Mysuru City Corporation (MCC) has a tough job to collect the pending bills.
Speaking to media persons here on Tuesday, Mayor Sunanda Palanetra said that the issue had been brought to the notice of the State government for further action.
"We have had detailed discussions in this regard. The emphasis is on collecting the pending bills and improve the revenue of the Corporation. Interest on dues will be waived if the people are willing to pay the dues at one go. This offer will be open for the next six months. MCC staff will also be visiting each household to collect the pending bills. MCC has developed a 'Revenue Management Software' for water bill payment. When the Corporation staff visit citizens to issue the bill, citizens can pay the amount on the spot through Google Pay, PhonePe or UPI."
She said the general meeting of MCC held on April 29, had decided towaive the interest of ₹ 74 crore for all the defaulers and a proposal has been submitted to the government in this regard. She further clarified that the interest waiver would be applied to only domestic consumers. The interest will not be levied from July 15 to next six months.
MCC Commissioner Lakshmikanth Reddy said that this decision had been taken to increase revenue collection. "If the principal amount is not paid at once, the interest will not stop," he warned.
The Corporation has disconnected 4,000 illegal water connections in the city. After MCC disconnected illegal connections 2500 applications for new connections are coming every month. He said that 34 thousand new meters have been installed so far.
"If the meter does not work, it should be replaced immediately. Otherwise the bill will double every three months. They will keep doubling." He said that consumers should bear the cost of tamper-proof meters to be installed by the Corporation.