VASCO
Several agitated residents in and around Dabolim confronted PWD Assistant Engineer Naresh Painguinkar after receiving hefty water bills, some which have run into thousands of rupees.
The aggrieved residents asked the PWD engineer to justify the bills at a time when the government had announced the offer of free water supply.
As the discussion lasted for over three hours with heated exchanges, the police were summoned to ensure there was no untoward incident and the people offered time till December 10 for the PWD engineer to check into the issue.
Former Bogmalo sarpanch Laxman Kavlekar said people were agitated after receiving hefty water bills.
"The government must give us an immediate solution, failing which we will have to protest on the roads," said Kavlekar.
A resident, Johnson Pillai, said some people had received a bill of up to Rs 18,200.
"We had a discussion for over three hours and we have given time till Monday for the PWD to explain the inflated bill and how they can resolve the issue. Some people have never used so much water and some have not been at home and yet, they have received such hefty bills which is not justifiable," said Pillai.
However, PWD Assistant Engineer Naresh Painguinkar said the new tariff is set and Rs 25 would be charged per unit flat if consumption goes above 50 cubic metres.
"I have seen most of the bills where the consumption is above 50 cubic metres and in that case, a new tariff of Rs 25 per unit is applied. The department has set the tariff of Rs 25 per unit after a lot of study because there cannot be more than 50 cubic metres of consumption for any individual family.”
“There is also a possibility that some people give rooms on rent but don't apply for new meters and there is a possibility of high consumption that can exceed 50 cubic metres.”
“There is also a possibility that there could be water leakage in the pipelines of these consumers which has led to additional consumption. I have asked them to give me an application but they were insisting that I must give in writing for a waiver, which is not possible," said Painguinkar.
The aggrieved residents asked the PWD engineer to justify the bills at a time when the government had announced the offer of free water supply.
As the discussion lasted for over three hours with heated exchanges, the police were summoned to ensure there was no untoward incident and the people offered time till December 10 for the PWD engineer to check into the issue.
Former Bogmalo sarpanch Laxman Kavlekar said people were agitated after receiving hefty water bills.
"The government must give us an immediate solution, failing which we will have to protest on the roads," said Kavlekar.
A resident, Johnson Pillai, said some people had received a bill of up to Rs 18,200.
"We had a discussion for over three hours and we have given time till Monday for the PWD to explain the inflated bill and how they can resolve the issue. Some people have never used so much water and some have not been at home and yet, they have received such hefty bills which is not justifiable," said Pillai.
However, PWD Assistant Engineer Naresh Painguinkar said the new tariff is set and Rs 25 would be charged per unit flat if consumption goes above 50 cubic metres.
"I have seen most of the bills where the consumption is above 50 cubic metres and in that case, a new tariff of Rs 25 per unit is applied. The department has set the tariff of Rs 25 per unit after a lot of study because there cannot be more than 50 cubic metres of consumption for any individual family.”
“There is also a possibility that some people give rooms on rent but don't apply for new meters and there is a possibility of high consumption that can exceed 50 cubic metres.”
“There is also a possibility that there could be water leakage in the pipelines of these consumers which has led to additional consumption. I have asked them to give me an application but they were insisting that I must give in writing for a waiver, which is not possible," said Painguinkar.
