Bengaluru water crisis: Royal Lakefront housing society to boycott Lok Sabha elections over poor water supply

Over 200 residents from Royal Lakefront Residency, a Bangalore Development Authority (BDA)-approved housing society in J P Nagar 8th Phase, have decided to boycott the ensuing Lok Sabha elections owing to the severe water crisis in the area.

They claim that the borewells have gone dry and they have no other source of water supply except to depend on tankers. 

In a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer, Nagesh R, the President of RLF Residents’ and Site Owners’ Welfare Association said, “We, the residents of RLF Residency layouts (Phase I and I) have decided to boycott the ensuing parliamentary election, scheduled to take place in April 2024 and also subsequent elections in future in case our above grievance has not been met with.” 

The housing society formed in 2003 has been trying to get the Cauvery water connection from the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) multiple times. They have not received the connection over the past two decades, the letter noted. 

A resident from RLF Phase 1 revealed that they were asked to pay an amount of Rs 13,075,550 in 2023, however, he claimed that other housing societies and apartments surrounding RLF have got the connection without having to levy any infrastructure fees. 

Ramprasath Manohar V, the Chairman of BWSSB clarified with DH that it is mandatory to pay the infrastructure charges in order to get the connection. 

“We sent a demand letter to the housing society almost a year ago. The connection will be made available soon after the charges are paid,” he said. 

Responding to other residential areas which come under Revenue and B Khata layout receiving the Cauvery water supply without levying any fee, he said that the payment is mandatory to get the connection regardless of the category of layout. He assured that the matter will be looked into and resolved at the earliest. 

The Karnataka High Court had declared the demand for beneficiary capital contribution charges by the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) as illegal in its recent order.

The court had, however, upheld the demand for pro rata charges and treated water charges for construction since it had legal support. In his judgement, Justice M Nagaprasanna ruled against the BWSSB’s argument, stating it lacked statutory provisions to collect beneficiary capital contribution.