|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 12 October 2003 |
 |
|
 |
News |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Consumers complain of being fleeced by Water Supply Board By Neomi Kodikara Are consumers being taken for a ride by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWS&DB) with their questionable accuracy in reading water metres? Irate consumers, fed up with paying exorbitant bills seem to think so, and blame government bureaucracy and the absence of an independent body to verify water metres as leaving the doors open for unchecked fraud. They also claim that the Water Supply Board is fleecing consumers on the sly through their 'arithmetic magic' and defective water metres. They claim that the monthly meter readings are erratic either due to defects in the meter or a problem in billing systems, making a realistic average consumption figure impossible to arrive at. Many consumers also point out that if any error or malfunction in the metre is detected, the Board replaces the metre temporarily with a recalibrated or repaired one, which is not above suspicion. "But the Board never accepts that there is any defect in their metres," the consumers echo, urging the critical need of an independent body. Investigations by the Sunday Observer have brought to light a glaring omission - there are no facilities in the country to get a metre verified by an independent body. An official attached to the Sri Lanka Standard Institute (SLSI) said that there were no set standards in Sri Lanka for water metres, allowing the NWS&DB to import any brand, they took a liking to. However, the Foundation for Law and Justice (FLJ), a local Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) engaged in public interest litigation denied the non-availability of verification mechanism, and attributed it to standard government bureaucracy and lethargy. "The institutions responsible for checking say that there is no facility to verify the water metres, when the mechanism of verification is a very simple one," a spokesman for the Foundation said. The simple mechanism is sending a known quantity of water through the metre and checking whether the metre accurately register it, he explained. Two types of metres called `Lianli' and `Nigibo' are imported from China. At Rs. 1,275 per domestic metre, they are the cheapest in the world market. "But we strictly follow the tender procedure," said Sunil de Silva, Additional General Manager (Corporate). "Though there is no Sri Lankan standard, we follow the ISO Standards which accepts two per cent error," he said, adding that the positive displacement metre-type that is being used frequently, does not allow over registering which is beneficial to consumers. The metres are tested at the NWS&DB laboratories before they are released to the consumers. He however agreed that non-availability of an independent body to certify them is a shortcoming. Several consumers complained that they have noted volatile metre readings. The bills unusually vary and fluctuate at extremes, they said. "But when we complain to the Water Board, they usually dismiss the complaints, attributing the escalation to higher consumption or leaks", said a consumer who did not wish to be named. But consumers question as to how the number of units fluctuate at such extremes, if it is due to leaks. "One month you are billed a certain amount and the next month it has shot up unbelievably," a consumer groused. He added that if it is due to any leak in the system, there should be an average rate in unit fluctuations. "For one month it was 55 units and in the following month it has stretched to 71 units, without the routine consumption having changed," he said. "We just pay whatever the bill is because of the reluctance to undergo the hassle to get the water supply reconnected. The Water Board is getting bolder knowing that they are unchallengeable," an angry consumer charged. Many alleged that the water bill did not reflect the actual water consumption. "Metre-reading is not accurate, said another consumer who is overjoyed at the frequent low bills he gets despite the household consumption. "There are four of us in our family who use pipe-borne water also for gardening, but the bill hardly exceeds Rs. 200," he said. The FLJ charged that due to improper management of the NWS&DB, star hotels and other large establishments were being given refuge in the defective metres while the Board fleeced the common consumer. Surprisingly the issue has not been addressed so far by any consumer-protecting body. Kithsiri Gunawardane, Director General for the Consumer Affairs Authority, says that consumers can make complaints to them. "This is an area we should look into," he said while accepting that they receive a fair number of complaints on dubious billing systems in the Water Board, CEB and Sri Lanka Telecom, but sadly no party has been interested in taking action except for paying only lip service. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
