RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) will launch amnesty scheme for illegal water connections in the cantonment areas.

The scheme will allow holders to regularise their connections after paying Rs6,000 charges from Oct 1 to Nov 1.

A similar scheme was also launched in 2014 by the then Cantonment Executive Officer of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board Fahim Zafar Khan paving the way for regularising more than 9,000 illegal water connections.

RCB spokesman Qaiser Mehmood told Dawn that the civic body wanted to facilitate the people instead of creating problems for them and this amnesty scheme would bring all the illegal connections in the tax net.

He said 54,000 domestic and 3,390 commercial water consumers were in the tax net in cantonment areas. He said that there are an estimated 15,000 illegal water connections in the cantonment areas.

The spokesman said that in the fiscal year 2019-20, a survey found 70pc commercial and 35pc domestic consumers not paying their water bills.

He said non-payment of water charges was causing loss of millions of rupees to the RCB every year, thus hindering the launch of new projects. He said the scheme was also necessary to expand network of legal consumers and that it was very difficult to take action against defaulters, since the agency was reluctant to sever illegal water connections.

The spokesman said the consumer would pay Rs3,000 water connection fee and only Rs3,000 fine to regularise their illegal water connections. “At present, the illegal water connection holder from five marla house has to pay Rs13,200 fine including Rs3000 water connection charges and more than seven marla house owner has to pay Rs30,000,” he said.

However, he said that under the scheme, the illegal connection holder can submit only Rs6,000 and regularize his water connection without any hurdle.

“After the end of one month amnesty scheme, the RCB will launch aggressive campaign and disconnect all illegal water connections without any further warning,” he said.

He said it would also check excess billings to consumers and differentiate the cost for commercial and domestic use.

Published in Dawn, September 26th, 2020