Hyderabad: Implementation of the free drinking water scheme for supply of 20 kilo litre per month by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is caught in an inter-departmental wrangle.
The Water Board claims it cannot clear the pending dues of about Rs 1,100 crore and bear the electricity charges for the supply of the water. Citing its weak financial condition, it has urged the electricity department not to disconnect power until a budgetary allocation for this purpose was made by the state government.
Notably, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had intervened in the matter and previously promised suitable budgetary allocations. On this basis, the Water Board urged the power department to continue the power supply for three months by which time, it said, the issues could be sorted out with the government.
In a request to the TS Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC), the Water Board said it had incurred a net loss of Rs 232.33 crore for…