HMWSSB intensifies drive against illegal connections

Rajendranagar: Before cracking its whip over illegal water connections in Rajendranagar circle, the HMWS&SB has come up with a voluntary disclosure scheme (VDS) to provide yet another opportunity to the connection holders.

In a recent survey by the officials, about 300 connections were identified as illegal. Upon realising that illegal connections were making a dent in its revenue, the HMWS&SB has decided to go all out against the practice in this part of the operational zones too.

HMWSSB Rajendranagar administratively designated as division 16 consists of five zones such as Hyderguda, Mailardevpally, Budwel, Sulaimannagar and part of Shastripuram. According to official records, a whopping 35,355 connections are active at present in all the five zones under Rajendranagar.

The Water Board announced VDS-2019 in November as the last opportunity for the defaulters to get their illegal connections regularised once and for all. The scheme ends on February 21, 2020. To overcome any political resistance to their drive, the officials took local public representatives into confidence and enlisted their support.

General Manager (Engineering O&M), Budwel, Ambati Prabhakar Rao on Thursday met with corporator Rajendranagar, Korani Srilatha, and urged her to prevail upon the people to come up voluntarily with their illegal connections and avail of the VDS scheme. Later, the corporator appealed to the public of her division to come forward by their own and avail of the facility, "failing which a swift action such as imposing heavy penalties, filing of FIRs, awarding imprisonment would be taken," warned the officials.