MCC panel, water-supply unit at loggerheads

MYSORE: Officials of the Vani Vilas Water Works (VVWW), the water supply arm of the Mysore City Corporation, skipped a meeting with the civic body's empowered finance, taxation and appeals standing committee on Monday.
The meeting was called to seek information related to the collection of tax, number of illegal connections and water bills issued by the VVWW.
Angry at the indifferent attitude, the panel headed by B L Bhyrappa gave VVWW time till August 17 to provide the information.Bhyrappa said the committee will hold a sit-in protest at the VVWW office on KRS Road if it failed to provide the information.
In the last meeting held in June, the panel had taken objection to laxity in the collection of water tax.
M K Shankar, a member of the committee, accused the officials of VVWW of trying to assist land sharks in encroaching upon prime land on the Mysore-Ooty Road. He said the VVWW officials are trying to illegally create documents of ownership of land reserved as a cemetery. The panel decided to take up the issue with corporation commissioner P G Ramesh.
The seven-member panel has also asked the VVWW to use Kannada in its communication with the committee.