MHADA served water disconnection notice in Khar and Bandra over ₹60 cr dues

BMC plans to cut water supply to 32 MHADA buildings in Khar and Bandra over ₹60 crore unpaid dues, urging settlement under the Abhay Scheme by March 31.

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has served a notice to the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) stating that it will disconnect water supply to the buildings in Khar East and Bandra East area over non-payment of dues nearing ₹60 crore.

MHADA served water disconnection notice in Khar and Bandra over ₹60 cr dues

According to sources in MHADA, 32 buildings would be affected as per the disconnection notice, out of which over 20 buildings’ dues are unpaid for less than five years. If the water supply is disconnected, one of the affected pockets falls under a part of Bharat Nagar that is legally under MHADA.

Hindustan Times has a copy of the notice which was issued on March 19. It states that MHADA owes ₹59,75,49,862, out of which ₹52,41,51,077 come under water charges and the rest ₹7,33,98,785 in other charges.

“If the benefits of Abhay Scheme (amnesty scheme) are availed, the dues can be cleared at ₹45,07,52,292,” the notice said. The amnesty scheme allows water consumers to settle their outstanding bills by making a one-time payment. The last date to pay under the scheme is March 31. To encourage a better turnout, the civic body has extended the operational hours of its Citizen Facilitation Centres from 8am to midnight from March 29 and 31.

The BMC has issued a notice regarding outstanding dues last year too; however, it was not settled. An official who isn’t authorised to be named, shared that the dues are ideally to be cleared by the residents and commercial units who utilize the respective locations. However, as the civic body’s records show MHADA as the landowner, the invoices continue to be raised in the government housing agency’s name. It is only on the transfer of land’s title will the cooperative societies pay.

When Sanjeev Jaiswal, MHADA’s Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, was asked if the housing authority will settle the dues or ask the present occupants to pay, he did not respond to the question.