Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board has won a major legal battle in the Supreme Court after a 16-year-long fight.
The apex court in its verdict on Wednesday asked 34 units in the Jeedimetla industrial area, mostly chemical factories, to pay sewerage treatment cess with 6 per cent interest within six months since 2003.
According to a Sewerage Board official, the industrial units had refused to pay the sewerage cess claiming that they were sending the waste to be treated at the Jeedimetla Effluent Treatment Limited.
The members filed a petition in the local court claiming that they cannot pay double charges, once to the Sewerage Board and and then to the Effluent Treatment Plant.
The Sewerage Board filed a counter petition stating that the units were releasing semi-treated water from the industries which contained highly concentric effluents. The Sewerage Board said it was treating the water before releasing it to the city lakes.
The case went up to the Supreme Court which asked the industrial units to pay treatment cess to the Sewerage Board within six months in two instaments. The water board official said that cess with penal amount would add up Rs 11 crore.
