The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board’s (BWSSB) ‘Blue Force’ drive has uncovered widespread irregularities in water connections across Bangalore. The operation, conducted over 20 days, identified 55 crore worth of disconnected water supply due to unpaid dues and over 11,000 illegal water connections.
Specifically, the drive revealed 8,689 instances of direct water theft, where consumers bypassed meters or tapped into pipelines illegally. An additional 2,412 cases involved consumers using water without any valid documentation or connections.
The highest number of illegal connections were found in the South zone (3,848), followed by the East (2,888), West (2,349), and North (1,927) zones. The BWSSB estimates a potential revenue loss of approximately 100 crore annually due to these illegal connections.
Actions taken include disconnecting illegal connections, issuing notices to offenders, and registering First Information Reports (FIRs) against repeat offenders and those involved in large-scale water theft. Penalties levied on those found guilty range from fines to the mandatory regularization of connections with applicable charges.
The BWSSB aims to recover the outstanding dues and regularize illegal connections to improve revenue collection and address water scarcity issues in the city. The drive also highlighted issues with meter tampering and inaccurate billing.
Further, the BWSSB is focusing on strengthening its monitoring mechanisms and utilizing technology to detect and prevent illegal water connections in the future. This includes employing GIS mapping and advanced metering infrastructure. The board intends to continue the ‘Blue Force’ drive periodically to maintain the integrity of the water supply network. The recovered amount from penalties and regularization is expected to be reinvested in improving water infrastructure.
