Plan to install meters for water connections fails ignominiously *PHE Deptt unaware of equipment procured for exercise

Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Sept 10: Contrary to the frequent statements about ensuring judicious use of water and generating revenue strictly as per the consumption in both commercial and domestic areas, the much talked about plan to install meters for water connections has failed ignominiously after a good start mainly because of the non-serious approach of those at the helm of affairs in the Public Health Engineering Department. Moreover, all the senior officers of the department are totally unaware of huge number of meters which were procured at a huge cost about four years back.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that Jammu and Kashmir Water Resources (Regulation and Management) Act, which was enacted by the State Legislature more than six years back, lays much thrust on metering of all the water connections in the State on the pattern of power connections so as to ensure judicious use of the water and to generate revenue for the department of Public Health Engineering strictly as per the consumption.
The Section 124 of the Act under Chapter-VIII states: The prescribed authority shall install or cause to be installed flow meters within the premises of user of water supply or at the location of every user for the purpose of measuring the supply of water and taking account of the water supplied to such user. No person shall fraudulently or dishonestly alter the index of any meter or prevent any meter from recording the actual quantity of water supplied and any alteration shall invite stern action.
In compliance to these provisions of the Water Resources Regulatory Act, the then Government in the year 2012 decided to install meters for water connections and accordingly targets were fixed for metering water connections both commercial and domestic initially in the capital cities in next two years, sources said, adding the exercise was initiated in Srinagar as well as Jammu to plug the misuse of water especially by the commercial establishments like hotels, restaurants and lodges despite resistance from certain quarters under the influence of the politicians.
Even huge number of meters were procured by the PHE Department by spending huge amount so that department generates revenue strictly as per the consumption of water by the domestic and commercial consumers.
However, the much-talked about plan has failed ignominiously mainly because of lack of seriousness on the part of those who remained at the helm of affairs in the PHE Department from time to time, sources said while disclosing that at present almost all the officers of this department are unaware about the total connections metered in both the capital cities of Jammu and Kashmir.
“What to talk of installation, they are even not aware of the fate of meters procured by the department at a huge cost”, sources said, adding “the metering process has failed after good start despite the fact during this exercise the department would have been able to detect illegal connections, whose number is in lakhs across the State mainly because of connivance of field functionaries who instead of helping the consumers in getting the connections regularized are advising them to continue the illegal connections by greasing their palms”.
When contacted, Commissioner Secretary, PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Sanjeev Verma expressed inability to divulge the details vis-a-vis installation of water meters despite the fact that implementation of the provisions of J&K Water Resources Regulatory Act is exclusively the domain of his department.
Even other senior level officers in the Administrative Department could not reveal the status of metering despite admitting that such an exercise was initiated with much fanfare and is of utmost importance for ensuring judicious use of water besides generating sufficient revenue for the department.
A provincial level officer of the department, when contacted, admitted that exercise was initiated on pilot basis but the same fizzled out with the passage of time. Almost all the senior officers of the department, when contacted, failed to divulge the fate of the meters which were procured by spending huge amount.
“I think the meters were given to the Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) for study purpose but what happened thereafter is not known”, the provincial level officer of the department said while responding to a question.

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