Hyderabad Water Board : Water bills can be paid with credit, debit cards

Hyderabad, Oct 31: The Hyderabad Metro Water Board has announced that the debit and credit cards will be accepted for bill payment from those who don't pay on time.

They can also pay online, at eSeva counters and cash collection centers. Field officers will visit houses that have not paid their water bills with ePoS machines, that will accept debit and credit cards. No resident can make an excuse regarding payment.

The Metro Water Board has hired 600 private bill distributors to go after non-paying households.

Presently, when consumers do not pay their monthly bill, the field staff after physical inspection issues bills manually. Payment is not collected on the spot. There are households that accept the bills but make payments after 2-3 months or when the line is disconnected.

From December, staff will visit non-paying households between the 16th and 30th of every month and collect bills on the spot through debit or credit cards.

"In a month, the billing system will be rationalized," said Water Board managing director M. Dana Kishore. "All consumers are requested to pay before the 15th of the month either online or at eSeva or cash counters. The staff then has 15 days to collect bills from late payers," he said.

"Those paying in time will get an opportunity to pay through cards. The board will pay for the extra staff hired, no burden will be imposed on consumers", Mr Kishore said.

The basic tariff per month is Rs 250, including taxes. The billing depends on the diameter of the pipeline, domestic or commercial service and individual or bulk supply.