The move paves the way towards making uninterrupted water supply 24x7 a reality.
A committee, comprising experts from the Indian Institute of Technology, Victoria Jubilee Technical Institute, Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran and others, has shortlisted electronic meters from four companies —Actaris (France), Sapple (France) and Arad (Israel) for small-size meters and Jalsonic for industrial meters—that are to be tested for Mumbai's climate and topographical conditions.
The pilot project involves testing 1,000 meters from each of the companies in various conditions. The results will be placed before the experts' committee which will then advise which meter should be purchased.
Anil Diggikar, additional municipal commissioner, in-charge of water supply, said, "When the meter is finally selected, that company will have a monopoly and if fresh tenders are invited, it can ask for an exorbitant price. To avoid such a situation, we have brought the contract now.''
But the BJP and MNS objected, saying the proposal submitted to the standing committee was incomplete. "There are no details on how the Rs 800 crore is going to be spent. To benefit two Marathi businessmen, we cannot allow lakhs of Marathi people to bear the burden,'' said Rajendra Lad of the MNS. He alleged that nearly Rs 200 crore was being siphoned off in the name of maintenance.
BJP corporator Yogesh Sagar pointed out that there had been an unusual hurry in bringing in the proposal. "The last date for submission of bids was October 10 and in less than 20 days, the proposal has been put up before the standing committee. One fails to understand the unusual haste considering that proposals for medicines are delayed by as much as a year,'' he said. Sagar alleged that one of meters had a faulty design and the reading would be inaccurate.
With general elections slated for next year, sources said the BMC was in a hurry to clear major contracts to benefit certain contractors and political parties.
Both the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party vociferously supported the proposal, saying it was in the interest of the city and would plug water losses.
Diggikar said that of the Rs 800 crore, Rs 20 crore would be spent on the pilot project. The maintenance and reading will be outsourced for five years. The remaining Rs 780 crore is to be spent on the purchase and maintenance of the meters as well as for collecting the readings. The BMC would, however, issue the bills and collect the money. "The cost of the meters will be recovered from citizens in the form of rent while BMC will pay the maintenance and reading cost,'' he said.
本文转自：China Industry News
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