Government issued orders extending the scheme for free drinking water supply up to 20 kilo liters per month per household, to Secunderabad Cantonment area too, on Wednesday.
The scheme will be applicable with retrospective effect from February 1, for all the slums, domestic connections and multi storied buildings housing domestic establishments.
Government has placed the responsibility of ensuring Aadhaar authentication and working meters for the domestic consumers excluding slums, in the hands of the Secunderabad Cantonment Board.
As the water board is giving bulk supply to the Cantonment Board, the latter will pay the monthly bill to the former after claiming rebate for the categories for which free water supply is sanctioned, the orders said.
Extension of the scheme was sought by the Secunderabad Cantonment MLA G.Sayanna, who represented to the government saying 70 per cent of the constituency came under the Cantonment Board for which the benefits of the scheme have been denied.
Before the scheme’s extension, Cantonment Board was being charged ₹13.5 per kilo liter up to 5.9 million gallons per day of water drawal, and ₹54 per kilo liter thereof. The same charges will continue henceforth too after rebate on the applicable categories.
For the total 31,745 connections under the Cantonment Board, 16,901 are in slums and 13,391 are domestic individual connections. There are 453 connections supplying to apartment complexes, and Aadhaar authentication is a must for the residents of the same to apply for 20KL free water supply scheme.
Loss of revenue for the water board due to extension of the scheme to Secunderabad Cantonment, will be ₹1.4 crore per month, and ₹16.8 crore per month. Already ₹34.17 crore arrears are pending from SCB to the water board, and the orders stipulated that the amount be paid forthwith.
