50 crore collected but AMC yet to install water meters
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The AMC's standing committee had made water meter installation mandatory for all new buildings, stipulating that building use (BU) permission certificates would not be granted without meters. However, certificates were issued without installations, creating a decade-long compliance failure.
The root cause lies in an ongoing departmental dispute. The central stores department and water production department have been locked in disagreement over who should purchase the meters.
"Officials from central stores say water production will buy them, while water production officials claim central stores should handle procurement. No tender has been issued due to this standoff," revealed a senior AMC official requesting anonymity.
The AMC last purchased 10,000 water meters in 2015-16 through central stores, but no procurement has occurred since then.
Another AMC official added, "Under the 2014 resolution, builders must pay Rs 150 per unit when applying for BU certificates for new buildings across the city.
The town development department collects this fee and deposits it with water production, which is supposed to install meters during water connection provision."
However, the installation process breaks down when central stores fails to supply meters to water production, creating a bureaucratic deadlock.
Another complicating factor is AMC's failure to approve a comprehensive water policy for 10 years.
"Water charges haven't been decided because there's no policy.
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Installing meters without fixing rates is pointless," explained an AMC's water production department official.
The official added that elected representatives haven't finalized the new water policy, which would enable implementation of revised water charges and justify meter installations for conservation purposes.
AMC's engineering department has also been cited for negligence in implementing the water meter rules. Initial pilot installations were conducted in a few buildings after the 2014 resolution, but the programme was subsequently abandoned despite continued fee collection.
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