Summary:
Kolhapur: Fresh tussle seems to be brewing between the water resources department and the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) over payment of dues.The department has issued a letter on January 15, which has been accessed by TOI, stating that the KMC must clear dues of Rs 27.33 crore. Every year, the municipal corporation pays only Rs 3 crore, it added.Civic chief Abhijit Choudhary said, “We pay Rs 3 crore as bulk water lifting charges. However, the remaining amount is disputed and we in fact had approached state government for the same.”It has to be noted that there has been a dispute over the rates to be charged by water resources department from KMC for lifting water from the Panchganga river. This includes the fine of Rs 6.19 crore imposed on KMC for not paying the bills, while the late charges are in the tune of Rs 4.44 crore.The letter states that the KMC has failed to pay water bills for the past 10 months and that water lifting might be stalled if the bills are not paid on time. An official from the water resources department told TOI that the bills are due since 2003 and has been issued to the KMC, accordingly.A press statement from the department states that they had send a letter to the municipal commissioner to make a provision of Rs 7-8 crore for annual water bills in the budget..