Mangaluru: Though Mayor Kavitha Sanil had declared two months ago that strict action would be taken against water bill defaulters, there seems to be no change in terms of recovery of dues. The Mangaluru City Corporation (MCC) has agreed that the dues amounted to Rs 12.65 crore. This is just the amount of the defaulters whose bills are more than Rs 10,000. If the dues of the defaulters whose bills are less than Rs 10,000 are taken into consideration, the amount will certainly go up.
In September, the Mayor had declared that water supply to the houses of defaulters would be disconnected. But the officials could collect only '3.20 crore in the last three months. Ms Sanil told reporters that the total dues amounted to Rs 12,64,36,759. “This is from the bills which are more than '10,000. If we consider the bills which are less than Rs 10,000, the amount will be much higher. This Rs 12.64 crore pending is from owners of 4,301 water connections,” she said. Mangaluru city has 87,773 water connections.
“The major defaulters are big consumers. Common man is punctual in bill payment. But many big consumers do not pay bills regularly. This has resulted in dues amounting to Rs 12.64 crore,” she claimed.
