HMWS&SB to step up measures for revenue collection

Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is ramping up efforts to boost revenue collection, with managing director K. Ashok Reddy issuing directives to officials. Reddy emphasized achieving 100% billing coverage, recovering overdue payments, and resolving consumer disputes to enhance HMWS&SB's income. During a meeting with joint managing director Mayank Mittal and senior officials, the Board reviewed its revenue performance, focusing on unbilled and unpaid Consumer Account Numbers (CANs).

Reddy expressed worry over water continuing to reach connections despite long-standing arrears and instructed officials to inspect those connections and resolve meter, billing, and other issues before recovering dues. He cautioned against haphazard disconnections as they could escalate disputes and harm revenue collection. Officials were tasked with personally pursuing long-standing arrears, with General Managers responsible for those exceeding five years, Deputy General Managers for cases surpassing a year, and Managers for issues unresolved for over six months.

HMWS&SB plans to identify top defaulters and assign 10 CANs to each manager for concentrated follow-up. A circle-level committee will also address disputes related to bulk connections, missing meters, and old bills. Mayank Mittal revealed that an AI-based revenue dashboard would soon provide quicker identification of arrears, disputes, and high-priority connections, thereby boosting collection efficiency.