Defaulters now have to pay higher penalties

Defaulters now have to pay higher penalties
By S Lalitha,DH News Service,Bangalore:
To give additional momentum to its crackdown against unauthorised water and sanitary connections in the City, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has effected a staggering increase in the penalty amount to be paid by defaulters.



The decision on the hike was taken at a recent board meeting and is applicable only in the case of multi-storeyed apartments and commercial establishments, informed BWSSB sources.

As per the new regulations which has been effected from the beginning of this month, the defaulter has to pay a fine amounting to 50 per cent of the pro rata amount (amount to be paid when opting for a new connection) along with a 12 per cent interest on the pro rata for every year the violation had been carried out.

The previous increase in penalty amount, effected in October last year, seems to be quite paltry in comparison. The previous fine levied was a fixed Rs 5,000 for domestic (multi-storeyed) consumers and Rs 20,000 for commercial “The fine amount will now be the same for both domestic and commercial establishments. The only criterion that applies is that the domestic establishment must be a multi-storeyed one,” a top source said.
The Revenue Enforcement Cell, constituted recently to crackdown on such revenue thefts, has already imposed the new fine amount on the multi-storeyed commercial complex at Bannerghatta it had slapped a notice with recently. The building had failed in paying a fixed sum of Rs 5.6 crore to get an authorised water connection.
“So, it has now been asked to pay a sum of over Rs 10 crore as penalty, inclusive of half the pro-rata amount and an annual 12% interest levied on pro rata amount for the years it has violated,” a top source said. The REC has already booked ten big cases and they will be charged as per the new rates, he added.

On the reason for effecting such a drastic increase, the source said that a deadline for regularising unauthorised connections was fixed as March-end this year and then extended upto October 10 this year. “Despite such a long rope being given to defaulters, the response has been very, very poor.”

It is expected that this hefty sum would act as a dampener against stealthy usage of water for new constructions.