Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Wasa) collected about Tk 15 crore in water bill arrears from the defaulters during the last three month's disconnection drive, but questions have been raised about the transparency in the billing process.

“Usually we collect Tk 30 crore a year on average, but we hope to collect Tk 60 crore this fiscal year (2005-06),” said a high official of Wasa. "We have started this drive to collect the arrears so that we can improve the service to those who pay bills regularly,” he said.

Wasa officials said they are facing problem while collecting the arrears from the defaulters

during the drive. On the other hand, most of the subscribers complain that they do not receive bills regularly or receive inflated bills.

When a Wasa mobile team disconnected the supply line of a six-storey building on Topkhana Road recently for Tk 34-lakh unpaid bills, some of the tenants burst out in anger and said the Wasa employees are responsible for the huge arrears.

"How could the water bill of a single building reach Tk 34 lakh? What was Wasa doing when the bills were not paid regularly for the last 12 years? There must be a huge corruption by the Wasa officials who let the bills to accumulate," said one of the tenants.

The structure houses a hotel and a number of offices

including the office of a major left-leaning political party. As the owner of the building, Aftab Uddin, was not present during the drive, the mobile court filed a certificate case

against the owner.

The government and private organisations owe Tk 200 crore in water bills to Wasa, of which Tk 45 crore is unpaid by

government offices and the rest by private organisations.

“We are sending letters to the defaulter government offices requesting them to pay the arrears as soon as possi-

ble,” said a Wasa high official. "But it is unlikely that the government offices will pay the bills by this fiscal year," he added.

However, the government bodies are under pressure from the donors to clear all the utility bills and if the pressure continues, it will be easier for Wasa to collect the arrears, he said.

A Wasa official said it has become very difficult for them to realise big amount of arrears from the defaulters who are very influential or backed by politicians.

The Wasa team led by a magistrate started the drive on August 23 to snap illegal connections and take action against bill defaulters.

Asked about collection of bills from the domestic level subscribers, Kazi Wasiuddin, metropolitan magistrate working with Dhaka Wasa, said: “Our team is going to subscribers of all levels. In most cases

their reaction is positive.” “After this drive we will not allow non-payment of water bills for more than four months according to the Wasa rules,” said Wasiuddin.

A high official of Wasa said: “Our magistrates were threatened by the defaulters during the previous drives. But this time the situation is better because we get strong support from the higher level of the government.”

According to Wasa's list of bill defaulters, the major defaulters are in the commercial and industrial areas such as Tejgaon, Shyampur, Motijheel and Dilkusha. A number of textile mills, dyeing and printing plants and engineering firms are on the list.