Kannur collectorate offices owe ₹35 lakh in water charges to KWA

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Various offices functioning from the Kannur collectorate complex have accumulated nearly ₹40 lakh in pending water charges payable to the Kerala Water Authority (KWA). Of this, ₹5 lakh was recently remitted following the District Collector’s intervention, bringing down the outstanding amount to ₹35 lakh.

The collectorate complex houses over 50 offices. The Public Works department (PWD) is responsible for maintaining the buildings and paying water charges to the KWA.

According to KWA officials, the dues had accumulated over the years, and despite repeated reminders to clear the backlog, no effective steps had been taken. When contacted, C. Savitha, Executive Engineer, PWD Building Division, said the outstanding amount pertained to water supplied to the offices through common connections maintained by the PWD.

A decision had been taken in December to apportion the liability among departments based on staff strength, following a meeting convened by the Additional District Magistrate. Subsequently, the PWD sought details of staff strength from all departments to determine each office’s share of the dues. However, only 13 offices have responded so far, she said.

Ms. Savitha said the dues accumulated over time as a proposed system for distributing the charges among individual offices had not been finalised. She added that individual water meters had not been installed for the offices, making it difficult to assess consumption separately.

She further said the District Collector had recently reviewed the matter and was expected to convene a meeting shortly to finalise the distribution of liability and recovery of the remaining dues.