Rs 805-crore drinking water project for Kochi soon
KOCHI: The state government has decided to set up a Rs805-crore drinking water project which will cater to consumers in the city and suburbs, including Thrikkakara. Inaugurating the revenue collection centre of Kerala Water Authority (KWA) at Thrikkakara on Friday, water resources minister P J Joseph said the project would provide around 109 million litres per day (mld) of water. The city, currently, receives about 168mld from about 240mld supplied from the Aluva water treatment plant.
He added that the state government has submitted various projects to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore to the Union government.
Meanwhile, the non-revenue water management (NRWM) wing of KWA has found that around 22mld is being siphoned off illegally, pointing to rampant water theft in the city. This is over and above the 25% water supply loss suffered daily.
From 168mld supplied from the Aluva pump house daily, around 64mld is unaccounted for, according to KWA officials. While about 42mld is lost to leakage, water theft, mostly in the form of domestic connections used for non-domestic and commercial purposes, makes up the rest. This puts theft in the city at a minimum of 22mld. "After checking the flow of water from the KWA treatment plant at Aluva to the city, we found that around 168mld of water is the actual quantity that the city receives. Of this, only 104mld is being billed. Theft and leakage claim the remaining quantity of water supplied to the city," a KWA official said.
As per the report sent to the KWA head office, large-scale water theft is done in connivance with some of the water meter readers of KWA. "While water meter readers give us tip-offs about irregularities, there is another group who connives with large-scale consumers and tamper meters to bring down water bills illegally. We have sent reports about such officials to the head office," an official with the NRWM wing said. "As many hotels and restaurants are found to be engaged in such malpractices, we have sought the help of Kerala Hotels and Restaurants Association (KHRA) to prevail upon its members," he said.
Large consumers also avail of multiple connections to evade huge bills. "We have identified businesses who have taken up to 12 connections with a consumption of about 25 kilo litres each. This would help businesses evade the high tariff levied from those who consume above 50 kilo litres,'' said Siddique, executive engineer, NRWM wing, Kochi."There were many instances of defunct meters among consumers with multiple connections. The major chunk of water consumed would be through these connections with defunct water meters,'' he said. Last month, KWA has sent a request to the head office to take urgent measures to convert all such multiple connections to single connections. A meeting of high-level committee of KWA held recently has decided to constitute a committee to look into the issue.
A few water thieves
* After a hotelier's consumption was found to be 112 kilo litres on a bimonthly basis as per the records, NRWM found that the owner had tampered with the meter and replaced it with a new one. The consumption then went up to 311 kilo litres
* Water consumption of another hotelier at Kaloor was 30.9 kl bimonthly over the last few years. After NRWM replaced tampered meters, consumption jumped to 486 kl
* Another firm in Kathrukkadavu had two connections. Before NRWM inspection, the consumption from one connection was 58 kl and the other 24 kl. After tampered meters were replaced, this went up to 137 kl and 88 kl, respectively
Source - TOI - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Rs-805-crore-drinking-water-project-for-Kochi-soon/articleshow/19748566.cms
He added that the state government has submitted various projects to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore to the Union government.
Meanwhile, the non-revenue water management (NRWM) wing of KWA has found that around 22mld is being siphoned off illegally, pointing to rampant water theft in the city. This is over and above the 25% water supply loss suffered daily.
From 168mld supplied from the Aluva pump house daily, around 64mld is unaccounted for, according to KWA officials. While about 42mld is lost to leakage, water theft, mostly in the form of domestic connections used for non-domestic and commercial purposes, makes up the rest. This puts theft in the city at a minimum of 22mld. "After checking the flow of water from the KWA treatment plant at Aluva to the city, we found that around 168mld of water is the actual quantity that the city receives. Of this, only 104mld is being billed. Theft and leakage claim the remaining quantity of water supplied to the city," a KWA official said.
As per the report sent to the KWA head office, large-scale water theft is done in connivance with some of the water meter readers of KWA. "While water meter readers give us tip-offs about irregularities, there is another group who connives with large-scale consumers and tamper meters to bring down water bills illegally. We have sent reports about such officials to the head office," an official with the NRWM wing said. "As many hotels and restaurants are found to be engaged in such malpractices, we have sought the help of Kerala Hotels and Restaurants Association (KHRA) to prevail upon its members," he said.
Large consumers also avail of multiple connections to evade huge bills. "We have identified businesses who have taken up to 12 connections with a consumption of about 25 kilo litres each. This would help businesses evade the high tariff levied from those who consume above 50 kilo litres,'' said Siddique, executive engineer, NRWM wing, Kochi."There were many instances of defunct meters among consumers with multiple connections. The major chunk of water consumed would be through these connections with defunct water meters,'' he said. Last month, KWA has sent a request to the head office to take urgent measures to convert all such multiple connections to single connections. A meeting of high-level committee of KWA held recently has decided to constitute a committee to look into the issue.
A few water thieves
* After a hotelier's consumption was found to be 112 kilo litres on a bimonthly basis as per the records, NRWM found that the owner had tampered with the meter and replaced it with a new one. The consumption then went up to 311 kilo litres
* Water consumption of another hotelier at Kaloor was 30.9 kl bimonthly over the last few years. After NRWM replaced tampered meters, consumption jumped to 486 kl
* Another firm in Kathrukkadavu had two connections. Before NRWM inspection, the consumption from one connection was 58 kl and the other 24 kl. After tampered meters were replaced, this went up to 137 kl and 88 kl, respectively
Source - TOI - http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/Rs-805-crore-drinking-water-project-for-Kochi-soon/articleshow/19748566.cms