After plaints, BWSSB to publish builders’ Cauvery payment info
BENGALURU: With apartment dwellers alleging their builders have collected Cauvery water connection deposits from them and have vanished, Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) has decided to publish details of all Bengaluru builders on its website, with details of the payments they have made to the utility for availing piped water.
The BWSSB said it will talk to builders who have collected money from homebuyers but have not paid the utility. It said the homebuyers will be free to pursue legal action against the builders who don’t pay up even after its intervention.
Noticing the initial lukewarm response from apartment communities to avail Cauvery water connections, BWSSB engineers visited several apartments as part of their door-to-door campaign in several zones of Bengaluru and were baffled by the responses of the apartment RWAs and apartment owners.
“Many apartment RWAs and owners said they have already paid the money to their builders at the time of the registration, and they have nothing to do with the Cauvery water connection now. Some even revealed a few builders have not paid the dues to the BWSSB despite collecting BWSSB charges from the apartment buyers,” an engineer explained.
Ram Prasath Manohar, chairperson, BWSSB, told TOI this was the case with almost all apartments in the 110 villages that have been included in BBMP ambit.
“While some builders have deposited the amount collected from buyers for BWSSB charges, many others have not paid us. Nevertheless, we have decided, in the interest of citizens, to upload details of all the builders of the city on our website, including those who have paid and not paid,” he said.
3-member panel set up to look into complaints about plumbers
Citizens can see for themselves whether their builders actually paid the charges collected from them to BWSSB or not,” Ram Prasath explained.
According to water authority officials, since 2008, it has been mandatory for all builders to obtain NOC (No-Objection Certificate) from BWSSB for getting a Commencement Certificate and Occupancy Certificate. “At the time of issuing NOCs, we have registered the builders’ details and recorded whether they have paid the BWSSB charges or not. If they have paid us, we will put up details of payment, and if not, we will also put up details of defaulters,” Ram Prasath explained.
“If any RWAs or apartment associations feel their builders have failed to pay the BWSSB despite collecting charges from home buyers while registering the property, they can approach us, and we will summon the builder and negotiate with them to pay the dues. If the builders refuse to pay, the RWAs or owners can take up the legal fight for their rights,” Ram Prasath explained.
Apart from this, BWSSB has set up a three-member committee to look into the complaints of empanelled plumbers demanding more money from the house owners for linking their premises with the nearby Cauvery water pipeline.
“We have about 2,000 registered plumbers in the city. If citizens feel the plumbers are demanding more money for plumbing work, they can approach the committee, which will look into the complaints and resolve them. If the owners are not happy with the committee’s decisions, they can appeal against the committee’s decision to the BWSSB Chairperson, and I will personally look into such cases,” Manohar explained.
