Hyderabad: Hyderabad Metropolitan water supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has turned down the proposal by the South Central railway to change its category from ‘Industry’ to ‘Domestic’.
The SC Railway had asked to consider 70% of water billed by the water board to the railway as ‘domestic’ and 30% under commercial or industrial category. The water board responded to this in the negative, saying, “The request of the railways cannot be accepted as there is no such category for bulk connections.”
The Railways are one of the largest consumers of HMWSSB, like Secunderabad Cantonment.
The Railways are drawing in bulk about 11,000 kiloliters of water daily from HMWSSB, to supply to railway residential staff colonies, stations and other service buildings.
Railway officials said about 7,700 kilolitres (70%) of the total water drawn is supplied to residential colonies and only 30% (3300 KL) of water drawn is supplied to railway stations and office buildings. But the entire quantity of water supplied to the railways is charged under Industrial consumers’ category above the 200 KL slab with additional sewerage cess of 35% and the entire bulk supply is charged at Rs 120 per KL.
The Railway officials asked the HMWSSB to charge 70% of water under domestic category and 30% water under industrial category. The railway officials told the water board with the steep increases in tariff since 2014 (from '60 to '120 per KL) the railways are over burdened and they say it has become very difficult to meet the expenditure.
As for the request of Railways, the HMWSSB officials said that the request of the railways to consider water billing for water supplied by the board to railways as 70% under domestic and 30% under commercial or industrial category, cannot be accepted.
The board officials said that there is no such category for bulk connections.
They said several such requests received from various government organizations to consider part of the water supplied under the domestic category was not accepted in view of their precarious financial position.
The Railway officials said that the tariff rates for water supply to railways at metro cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi are being charged at very reasonable rates similar to domestic bulk supply slabs.
