Meter or no meter, Mysore City Corporation makes its money

Local bodies are well known for their poor revenue mobilisation efforts. Tax loopholes are plenty often leading to a frequent rise in taxes, burdening the honest and allowing the dishonest to escape from paying any tax.

Here is a classic example of how the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) is mobilising revenue from water tax. The Right to Information Act has come handy for a local NGO to bring into focus the poor management of the MCC's tax resources.

According to the reply furnished by the MCC to the Karnataka Consumer Forum, Mysore, has 1,12,733 household and 6,862 commercial water connections, of whom only 50,000 are fitted with meters.

For the detection of unauthorised connections, it has set up an investigating squad, which has so far identified 18,384 such connections. But, none has been penalised!

If this is the case of illegal or unauthorised connections, there are cases of faulty water meters among those having meters. About 90-100 connections having faulty meters have been detected during the last three years and bills issued to its owners calculating six-month average water rate.

There is also another side to this tax leak. Those who do not have meters but have official water connections are levied a minimum of Rs 60, if the connection is for a house, and Rs 120, if it is for non-commercial purpose. These people can use unlimited quantity of the costly treated water, unlike those who have meters and use limited water to keep their bills low!

To mop up more revenue, the MCC has to often resort to an increase in the water tax and against its recent notification about 210 objections were received from the public. The MCC has not bothered to reply how these public petitions were disposed off, but instead claims that the revision was approved by the MCC council and was published in the local newspapers. That means, in a local-self body, consumers have no say and their voice is not of any merit to be considered!

There is also yet another issue. Installed water meters should have ISI mark. The ISI standard meters with guarantee card have to be produced before the Vani Vilasa Water Works authorities, who will register the details, and then its staff will install it at the consumer's place. But, how many meters have been checked for ISI certification and how many punished for installing sub-standard meters? The answer is 'none'!

It is evident from the figures given by the MCC that less than half the water consumers in the city foot the entire cost of water supply in Mysore and continue to bear additional burden as and when the tax is raised.