Water board looks for discounts from KSPCB

BANGALORE: In its efforts to reduce its burden, the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has appealed to the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to waive off penalties and interest levied on it for not paying water cess on time.

According to KSPCB records, the BWSSB has to pay Rs 27.4 crore. The amount includes cess levied on water that the board supplies to the city and the penalties imposed for not paying the cess on time and the interest on the principal amount.

“The actual cess amount is around Rs 7 crore and it was not paid in the past,” said P B Ramamurthy, BWSSB Chairman. “We have been paying the cess regularly since then.”

He added that the water supply board was a non-profit body and its purpose was to serve people.

“We are already incurring more expenditure than the revenue generated,” he said. “We have appealed to the Appellate Authority headed by the KSPCB chairman to waive off the penalties and interest on the cess.”

KSPCB’s member secretary M S Gouder said the appellate authority had to decide on the issue. “If the authority decides to waive of the penalties, it has to be approved by the government.”

He said it would take time to settle the long-pending issue.

According to the Prevention and Pollution Control Act 1974, the pollution control board is authorised to collect cess for water drawn from natural resources and to enforce the pollution control rules in the state.

At present, the water cess is fixed at two to three paise per kilo-litre for water used for domestic purposes, five to 10 paise for industrial cooling, 10 to 20 paise for the industries in which water pollution is bio-degradable.

The amount is 20 to 30 paise for industries in which water pollution is non bio-degradable and toxic.

The BWSSB has been supplying water for all these purposes in the city.

madhusudhan@expressbuzz.com