No water bill for VMC

VMC, as a partner in the Panam Water Works Agreement, used to pay only royalty. Later the Shankersinh Vaghela Government revised the rates for getting more revenue and informed VMC that the agreement stood cancelled.

After Keshubhai Patel took over as the Chief Minister assurances were given that additional tariffs would not be levied. However, the VMC continued to receive bills under the revised rates and it was only recently that Irrigation Minister Jaynarayan Vyas assured that revised rates would not be levied and the VMC would be required to pay only royalty.

But in February, the Irrigation Department sent a bill of Rs 65 lakh after which Mayor Bharti Vyas took up the matter with the Minister. According to sources, in the last one and a half years, the VMC was billed to the tune of nearly Rs 30 crore but it paid only the royalty.

The recent letter means that the VMC would be able to save Rs 7.50 crore annually. In the meantime, the VMC has already sent the State Government papers of the Agreement after signing. When the agreement was reached some 20 years ago, the papers were not signed.