Hyderabad consumers beware! Using motor pump to draw drinking water will attract Rs 5000 fine

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has decided to go whole hog against consumers who use motor pumps to illegally draw drinking water during supply hours.

A penalty of Rs 5,000 would also be imposed on those and the motor would be seized if they were caught pumping water illegally, said HMWSSB managing director Ashok Reddy during a meeting held with officials at his office here.

Rs 5,000 penalty for drawing water illegally through motors

Speaking on the occasion, Ashok Reddy said that if motors are connected to pumps and water is pumped, the remaining consumers will experience problems owing to a low-pressure water supply. Taking a serious note of the matter, a decision was taken to impose a penalty of Rs 5,000 and seize the motor if any individual was caught illegally drawing water during the supply hours, he said.

Elaborating further, the HMWSSB managing director said that the Water Board is purifying and supplying water from distant areas at great expense, and therefore, he urged people to use the water only for drinking purposes instead of wasting it.

Groundwater levels running low in Hyderabad

“The groundwater levels in the city are already running low, and the demand for tankers has increased in some areas. Since there may be a water shortage in the days ahead, people should not waste the clean drinking water that has been provided to them,” he said.

Informing about the measures being taken to avoid drinking water issues during the summer, he said that the Water Board has focused on all possible ways to avoid drinking water shortages during the summer. Although there has been no shortage of drinking water supply so far, the Water Board has taken the issue of low-pressure water supply seriously due to the behavior of some consumers.

Metro Customer Center (MCC) is receiving complaints about illegal water pumping. Despite the timely release of water through pipelines, the water board recently undertook a third-party investigation into the current situation in response to an increasing number of pressure-related complaints.

Third-party survey reveals 60 percent of connections receiving high pressure.

According to a third-party survey, 60 percent of the connections were receiving high-pressure water supply and using an illegal motor pump, while 20 percent of the remaining 40 percent were receiving regular supply and 20 percent were receiving low-pressure supply. The survey also found that consumers were fitting automatic motors that start as soon as the supply starts, Ashok Reddy said.

The Water Board has also devised a special operation to ensure that the water is supplied as usual through pipelines without causing pressure issues. Two days ago, a special video link meeting was held with about 110 linemen from a division that had a high number of complaints about pressure issues and inquired about the reasons for the pressure on the water supply, he said.

During the meeting, the linemen were questioned as to why 80 percent of water is supplied to some connections and 20 percent to others, even though there is no difference in the MGDs and timings of water supply in the past and the present. He ordered the linemen to impose fines on those individuals or households caught drawing water illegally during the supply hours.

Water Board to launch ‘motor-free tap water’ campaign

The initiative, which will begin on April 15, will involve linemen, managers, and even the Managing Director visiting throughout colonies during regular supply times to discover unlawful usage till the completion of summer. The ‘motor-free tap water' program will be implemented in four stages.

The initial step will be to identify water pressure and illegal motor usage, followed by inspections by the section manager in the following supply schedule, when motors will be seized and a penalty credited to the Customer's Account Number. Furthermore, their CAN number is blocked.

In the third and fourth phases, general managers, based on managers' reports, will randomly examine the line at the field level and file a satisfactory report to Chief General Managers, who will resume random field inspections and seize motor pumps. Inspectors will also face consequences if they submit fraudulent or misleading reports.

Special app to impose fines

Ashok Reddy also said that a special app has been designed to levy fines if consumers are caught drawing unlawfully, such as by connecting a pump, or squandering resources, such as for washing, gardening, cleaning, or construction.

The lineman will use the program to record the infraction, tag the connection, and send the punishment directly to the CAN. To preserve water and guarantee equitable supply and use for all customers, he added that infractions can be reported by calling the customer service number 155313.