KMC reports loss of revenue due to defunct water connections

KARNAL: The Karnal Municipal Corporation (KMC) officials discovered that around 60,000 water and 65,000 sewerage connections are defunct and running illegally in the city, which has led to a huge loss of the civic body.

This discrepancy surfaced in reply to the RTI query filed by Rajesh Sharma, Advocate and Karnal-based RTI activist, who reached out to gather information regarding the number of unauthorized water and sewerage connections and the expenditure on the water lines. In reply, the civic body stated that there were 30,679 water connections and 9,974 sewerage connections registered. However, the non-registered water and sewerage connections have led to a loss of Rs 865.26 lakhs. These unregistered water connections account for ‘non-revenue water’ and this problem has been reported from distributors across different regions, claiming losses from 10 to 30%.

Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) also reported a loss of around Rs 37 crore annually due to water thefts and unmetered water connections. According to NMC officials, in November 2021, a survey found that around 42% of non-revenue water, due to which NMC lost revenue of about Rs 185 crore in the last five years, reported with Times of India.

To rescue the situation, Sharma urged the government to regularise non-registered water connections via a campaign drive. In addition to that, the bills of unregistered water should be attached to the property taxes of the people who have these unregistered water connections. This will fuel revenue generation. To this plea, Dr Manoj Kumar, Commissioner, Karnal Municipal Corporation would launch a campaign to get these unregistered water connections metered.