KMC to use water sensors for tax levy

The Kolkata Municipal Corporation is planning to install water meters with remote sensors to monitor water usage in the city.

To begin with, KMC would be installing the new water meters in a pilot basis in the commercial areas and institutions to monitor the amount of water usage in the corresponding places and understand the feasibility of such operation.

B Maity, director-general of water supply at KMC, said the embedded technology would permit monitoring from the KMC office itself.

Subsequently, the corporation is mulling the idea of implementing water tax on a volumetric basis instead of a flat rate system.

"A tax rate in accordance with the volume of water used the rather than a flat rate structure, would prevent water wastage," he explained on the sidelines of a seminar organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Maity said that the corporation would soon invite a tender regarding the supply of water meters.

Meanwhile, Coca-Cola India Ltd and UN-HABITAT would invest $200,000 on a a rain water harvesting system and safe drinking water and sanitation project in 150 schools in and around Kolkata.

The All India Institute of Public Health and Hygiene would also partner the project as implementing agency.

"We are at a very advanced stage of dialogs with the institute and agreement in this regard would be soon in place," said Kulwant Singh, chief technical advisor, Water for Asian Cities Programme, UN-HABITAT.

The feasibility study had already been completed and UN-HABITAT was now in the process of identifying schools in Kolkata and surrounding districts.

The project included value added water, sanitation and hygiene education for the students and there would be proper training programmes for the teachers and the staffs on regular maintenance of the facilities. Singh said, "We had a very fruitful meeting with the Mayor of Kolkata, Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, in this regard and we hope to complete the project within a couple of years."