One-Third of Eligible Families Not Opting for 20 KL Free Drinking Water Scheme
Hyderabad: In what is certainly a peculiar situation, although the water board has been offering 20 kilolitre (KL) of free drinking water each month for three years now, only 6,14,497 of the overall 9,73,873 eligible CAN’s have been availing of the scheme.
According to sources, one of the main reasons for a third of the eligible households not opting for the scheme is the mandatory installation of a water meter. Many houses either do not have a meter at all or have obsolete ones that need replacement.
Habeeb Basha, a tenant, stated that he cannot opt for the scheme because there is no water meter in the rented house he lives in.
“I might leave this house anytime since it’s not mine, Installing a meter is the owner’s responsibility not mine,” he said.
Hanumantha Rao, a street vendor, stated that he is unaware of how to go about opting for the scheme. It is quite true because many people are not aware of the scheme and its application process.
“I don’t know the process and I still have pending water bills. I’m scared that they will first ask me to clear those bills if I visit the office to seek details of the scheme,” Rao said.
This indicates that people with pending water dues are hesitant to opt for the scheme for precisely the same reason.
“Why should I share my personal details and link my Aadhaar with the water board when the bill is only between Rs 500 and Rs 700?” wondered Suresh K.
Meanwhile, there are some persons, who are apprehensive about water metres. They fear the readings might be inaccurate and lead to higher bills if their usage goes beyond the limit.
For someone like Kasturi, a single mother living in a small house, the cost of installing a meter is simply beyond her reach and is ‘a wasteful expenditure’, as she puts it.
“It’s just me and my son. We don’t use much water and the bill comes to barely around Rs 350, Installing a meter doesn’t make sense for us,” she said.
Meanwhile, V.L. Praveen Kumar, revenue director, HMWS&SB, stated that the scheme is still open and consumers can register at any time and get the benefits.
