BANGALORE: To ensure quality and for early completion of work, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) and Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) will conduct a joint inspection of drinking water and underground drainage schemes in the newly added and partially new wards.

Board chairman Ashok Kumar C. Manoli said this on Wednesday at the BMP Council meeting held to discuss problems relating to water supply and underground drainage system.

The cost of the project, initially estimated at Rs. 150 crores, shot up by Rs. 33 crores. The project, delayed by over one-and-a-half years, is funded by BMP. The BMP has so far deposited Rs. 153 crores with the BWSSB, he said.

Mr. Manoli was responding to corporators, who alleged that work executed under the first and second packages of the project is of poor quality.

The corporators wanted him to ensure that there are no discrepancies in the execution of the third package, which will cover all areas missed in the first two packages.

Mr. Manoli said the BWSSB is ready for third party inspection of work done under the first two packages.

"The final payment to contractors of the third package will be made only if the work is found satisfactory. All works under this package will be completed by March end or April 15 and the project will be ready by May," he said.

Mr. Manoli said: "We will not wait for BMP to release funds to take up missing bits. I have asked the officials to start work immediately. We need Rs. 30 crores more to complete the project and BMP Commissioner K. Jothiramalingam has promised to release Rs. 10 crores by this month end," he said.

Waived

Mr. Manoli said the board has waived Rs. 87 crores interest accumulated on water charges slapped on residents of several slums in the city. "We are planning to give individual water connections to all slum dwellers. A water policy for the urban poor is in the offing at the Government level," he said.

Pro-rata charges

Following a plea by members to exempt owners of houses on 30 ft. x 40ft. sites from paying pro-rata charges, Mr. Manoli said the board has decided to exempt charges for the ground and first floors. "A decision to exempt charges for the second floor has to be taken by the board as it is a policy decision," he said.

The board is collecting pro-rata charges (from March 2004) for the building if the house has more than one kitchen. Pro-rata charges are one-time service charges collected by BWSSB for providing new drinking water and sanitary connections to buildings. The charges are calculated at the rate of Rs. 120 each for every sq metre of built up area for drinking water and sanitary connections.

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