Vigilance cell to stop drinking water pilferage on cards

Bangalore, Nov 14 (UNI) With a view to boosting the revenue collection, plug loopholes and put a stop to pilferage of drinking water, the Karnataka government has decided to constitute 'Revenue enhancing and detection cell,' Minister for Urban Water Supply Katta Subramanyam Naidu said today.

Talking to newspersons here, he said the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), supplying drinking water to the citizens covering more 800 sq km area was drawing over 950 MLD from different sources of which an estimated 150 MLD of water was unaccounted.

To arrest the pilferage and boost the revenue of BWSSB, it was decided to constitute a dedicated vigilance cell, the minister said and added that about 18 per cent of the total water drawn from various sources for the city was either flowing to drain or not being accounted.

He said the Brihath Bangalore Mahanagar Palike (BBMP) has submitted a proposal to the state government to block storm from going to sewer and store in artificially built reservoirs in ten places in the city.

''The matter will be placed before the cabinet to take a decision,'' he added.

He said to infuse more accountability and enhance efficiency, the state government had decided to bifurcate BWSSB into four division with seven assembly constituencies coming under each division.

The move would help citizens to get their grievances redress relating to supply of drinking water and easy maintenance of supply lines by the staff, he said.

Mr Naidu said the govenrment had made it mandatory to install rain water harvesting (RWH) system in all government buildings in the city and contemplating to bring a legislation to extend it to private structures.

''About 20 per cent of the total requirement of drinking water in Bangalore city can be conserved by adopting RWH,'' the minister added.

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