Water Board to reduce tariff to Secunderabad Cantonment Board

Secunderabad: The Secunderabad Cantonment Board’s long struggle to receive water based on the tariff that is given to GHMC may finally bear fruit as the board members see light at the end of the tunnel. The SCB, CEO, S V R Chandra Shekar said that there is every possibility of the Hyderabad Metro Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) reducing the water tariff within a fortnight. It may be noted that the board members met K T Rama Rao seeking help in solving the water crisis and last year, KTR had also waived the dues tune to the tune of Rs 20 crore that SCB owed the water board. During the elections, KTR had promised water supply on alternate days to the residents of the cantonment.

For several years now, SCB has been paying Rs 13.5 per gallon to the Water Board, while its counterpart, GHMC only Rs 7 per gallon. The contention of the Water Board, all these years has been that the Cantonment does not come under the GHMC limits and is under the control of the Defence ministry and so it does not come under its purview. Hence the increased tariff on commercial rate. The issue came up for discussion here on Wednesday at the SCB board meeting. The SCB vice president J Ramakrishna insisted that the revised rates that the SCB had implemented be turned back as the Water Board would be reducing the tariff soon. Amidst heated arguments, it was decided that the board would wait for a fortnight and in an event of the Water Board not reducing the tariff, the rates would be reduced.

The board supplies water to eight civilian wars and collects a monthly sum of Rs 160 from slum dwellers and Rs 315 from residents in colonies. The SCB pays Rs 1 crore towards bill to HMWSSB. There are close to 30,000 connections in Secunderabad Cantonment.