Shimla civic body: 34 hotels misusing water connections

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, August 3

The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) has unearthed a “domestic water connection racket” run by hoteliers in connivance with a few officials of the civic body for decades.

The hotels corner a major chunk of water supply through an illegal chain of multiple domestic water connections from the main pipeline right under the nose of the civic authorities and Irrigation and Public Health Department.

It was after the High Court orders that the MC and the IPH Department busted the racket, otherwise the matter would have been brushed under the carpet. The High Court directed the corporation to file an affidavit on the distribution of water in the city.

What is more shocking is that the corporation has shown its benevolence to hoteliers ensuring them almost round-the-clock water supply from the main line, but it has been charging “domestic tariff at the rate of Rs 47 per kilo litre from them over the years”.

Even Cecil Hotel, which has a swimming pool, has got commercial connection from the main line which has been disconnected, said officials. But the hotel is paying commercial charges unlike its sister concern The Clarks, which has got the domestic connection for 29,000 litre, revealed the officials.

The list of 34 hoteliers, who have got domestic water connections, is with The Tribune. It revealed that Bridge View Regency and Malhotra Bridge View, The Mall, had availed four domestic connections — two each.

The Cosmos and Marina on The Mall have secured domestic water connections for 66,000 and 74,000 litre for commercial purposes. Willow Banks Hotel, The Mall, has secured as many as eight different domestic water connections, exposing the alleged nexus between the MC staff and the hoteliers.

Other hotels running their commercial venture on domestic water connections include Candy Guest House, Doegar, Duke, Fairmount, Flora, Ganga Palace, GC Guest House, Hill Bloom, Grace, Kohinoor, Land Mark, Mahamaya, Nishat, Rajdoot, Sun n Snow, Sidharth, Shimla British Resort, Victory, Vivek Guest House, Wood Park, Dhalli, YWCA, The Mall, Akashdeep, South Gate (Chhota Shimla), Tourist Hotel, Hotel Uphar and Bindu Raj Dharamsala, stated the defaulters’ list prepared by the MC.

The modus operandi was that these hoteliers had got multiple domestic connections for each hotel splitting the bills so that they did not exceed the maximum domestic tariff slab of 30,000 kilo litre. The corporation charges Rs 64 per kilo litre for 75,000 kilo litre and Rs 86 per kilo litre for more than 75,000 kilo litre slab.

In some cases, hoteliers got domestic connection for a portion of the hotel, but supplied water to run the hotel. The corporation has yet to work out the total water being consumed by the hotels through illegal domestic water connections, said sources. The hoteliers have managed to get direct connections from the main line that ensures them regular supply even as residents go without water for days together. The city needs more than 50 MLD of water daily, but it gets about 40 MLD and it was because of wrong distribution of water in the city that the High Court took cognisance.