Kochi: There are several households in the city with outstanding water bills which have not yet been settled. Data compiled by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) shows that there are around 1,200 consumers in the city who owe more than Rs 10,000 per connection to the authority. As arrears pile up due to consumers’ defaults, the KWA has stepped up its action against defaulters and disconnected around 450 water supply connections last month alone.
The defaulters include both domestic and commercial connections. “We have noticed that the number of defaulters is increasing in the city and hence have decided to intensify action against them. In some cases, people pay the bill soon after the connection is disconnected and in other cases, people refuse to pay the amount due to the disparity There are even cases where consumers do not even know that they owe a huge amount to KWA We also found that as the city has a large number of. floating populations, the many tenants are leaving the house without paying the amount Later, it is the responsibility of the property owner, who may be residing in remote locations or abroad. In such cases, the owner is informed of the delay only when. we are disconnecting the power supply,” said a KWA official.
As many as 1,609 water supply connections were cut off in September this year, and 1,326 connections were cut off in August in the city. Meanwhile, the Kochi corporation owes Rs 129 crore to the KWA for the 5,453 taps, including public taps, those of government institutions including schools, hospitals and other enterprises under the local body.
“As water is a basic need, we cannot cut off the supply abruptly. Even if the water bill provides for a cut-off period, we still wait a few months before cutting the supply,” explained the official. .
Ernakulam municipalities owe around Rs 36 crore to KWA, with the highest amount of Rs 16 crore owed by the North Paravoor municipality. At the panchayat level, a total of Rs 58 crore is owed to the KWA, with the highest amount owed by the Koovapady panchayat at Rs 6.40 crore as of September 30.
“Earlier, Okkal belonged to Koovapady panchayat before it became an independent panchayat. Until recently, Koovappady panchayat was responsible for the bill associated with public water taps in Okkal area. We will raise this issue again with the KWA, as we lack the financial resources to cover such a large amount,” said Koovappady panchayat president Maya Krishnakumar.