The income shortfall for the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is Rs 8,800 crore. It must repay past loans totaling Rs 1,847 crore and outstanding electricity bills of Rs 5,500 crore. The Water Board also owed Rs 4,300 crore to other government agencies and organizations. During a meeting, the Water Board officials provided Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy with these details.
Ashok Reddy, Managing Director of HMWSSB, clarified that the Water Board’s revenue was adequate to cover employee salaries, benefits, and drinking water supply upkeep. In order to overcome the issue, the Chief Minister wanted an action plan to be drafted immediately in conjunction with the Finance Department after observing that the board’s earnings and expenditures were not promising.
Additionally, he recommended that the Water Board look into measures to boost its revenue. The Chief Minister stated that the city was already receiving 20,000 litres of water at no cost and urged the administration to routinely collect the outstanding water bill dues. Additionally, the Water Board has been directed to find ways to obtain low-interest loans and rise the necessary funding for new projects. According to him, project DPRs ought to be written specifically for this reason.
The Chief Minister was also informed by the Water Board representatives that the pipelines that have been delivering water from the River Manjeera to numerous parts of the city since 1965 were out of date. If repairs were made, the water supply would be cut off for ten to fifteen days.
In reply, the Chief Minister ordered a new project to be undertaken to construct modern lines as an alternative along the existing lines. “If necessary, officials should prepare a project report to get funds through the Jal Jeevan Mission which is being implemented by the Union government,” Revanth Reddy said.
The Chief Minister ordered the Water Board officials to envisage plans for developing required infrastructure and assess future needs for the supply of safe drinking water to residents of Greater Hyderabad during the next 25 years.
He also asserted that a sewage plan should be prepared along with drinking water supply to every household and if necessary, a study should be conducted involving agencies and consultancies.
Currently, Water Board delivers drinking water from River Manjeera, Singur, Godavari, and Krishna. The meeting examined the project designs to extract more water through Godavari Phase II and give drinking water to Osman Sagar and Himayat Sagar.
The meeting resolved to extract drinking water from Mallanna Sagar based on the studies provided by consultancies, as well as the fair lifting cost and sufficient water availability.
In order to accommodate the city’s growing drinking water needs, the Chief Minister additionally gave his approval to draw 20 tmc of water rather than the original 15 tmc.
-Raja Aditya
