The HMWS&SB made linking of the customer account number (CAN) with Aadhar card and fixing of meters compulsory to avail free water supply scheme and set 31st March as the last date to avail the scheme. This move by Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (MWS&SB) raise many eyebrows in the city.
“The customers will start receiving bills from April along with the previous charges of the last three months since January when the scheme was first launched. If customers want to avail the free water supply scheme then they have to link their CAN Number with Aadhar. Though there is no provision for slum consumers to fix meters on the tab they too have to link their CAN numbers with the Aadhar card before the deadline,” Informed Khader Mohiuddin, General Manager (Div-I), HMWS&SB.
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“Presently, he said, the board is charging Rs.162/- for slum connections. If they link their CAN with the Aadhar by 31st March, they will not get bills for January, February, and March. They start receiving the same from April with zero bills. However, for domestic connections, the consumers have to link their CAN with the Aadhar besides fix meters on their tabs. They would get the bills as usual excluding the quantum of free 20,000 liters supply. Aadhar link with CAN can be done at Mee-Seva centers or at HMWS&SB local offices. The board is also procuring machines to facilitate Aadhar linkage at its office premises.”
The official further said, that “If the consumers fail to get their Aadhar linked with CAN before the deadline ends on 31st March, they will not be able to benefit with waving of bills from January to March 2021. For further information, they can be reached at HMWS&SB’s website or can contact local board offices.”
However, the move of the HMWS&SB not well received by the people and even drawing criticism from civil rights activists.
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Questioning the sincerity of the government towards implementing the free water supply scheme, The CPM Hyderabad City Secretary M.Srinivas said “It is a meticulously planned idea to privatize public water supply service in the guise of streamlining the entire process.”
Finding fault with the move to made fixation of water meters compulsory in such a short time he said “What is the purpose of asking people to link CAN number with their Aadhar card when the government is committed to supply them water without cost,” adding that “To what extent the officials and the staff had penetrated the people with their message. The machinery of the Water Board is not at all ready to reach this end to implement the new ideas.”
Reminding that the Delhi Government spend at least four years to fix meters to the tabs of customers, he asks “How the HMWS&SB can complete such a huge task in just three months of time that too having 10 lakhs connections in its fold of which only two lakhs are having meters on their tabs.”
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“In the last three months neither 50 thousand meters were fixed nor are the linking up of CAN with Aadhar has done of the same capacity. How the remaining target will be achieved by the end of the deadline of 31st March with just 16 days left in hand,” inquired Srinivas. “There were no proper guidelines issued specifying whether all the flats in apartments should have meters or only the owners have to link their CAN numbers with the Aadhar,” he explained.
