In a temporary relief to the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB), a Division Bench of the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday, May 2, stayed the direction given by a single judge to refund Greater Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Project (GBWSSP) charges and the Beneficiary Capital Contribution (BCC) charges collected from residents and the commercial ventures respectively in areas newly added to the city.
The BWSSB had collected hundreds of crores of rupees under GBWSSP and BCC from all types of buildings, including old and new residential buildings, based on the size of the site in the seven city municipal councils and one town municipal council that were added to the city limits, for providing drinking water and underground drainage facilities.
A Vacation Bench comprising Justice B.M. Shyam Prasad and T.G. Shivashankare Gowda passed the interim order on an appeal filed by the BWSSB, which had challenged the April 5 judgement of the single judge Bench.
The Bench also stayed the direction given by the single judge to the Court’s registry to refund the amount deposited by the petitioners, who had questioned the legality of GBWSSP and BCC, during the pendency of their petitions before the single judge.
The single judge had held GBWSSP and BCC charges as illegal as there exists no provision in the Bangalore Water and Sewerage Sanitary Act, 1964 to levy the charges like BCC and GBWSSP.
However, the single judge had said the State or the BWSSB can bring in these charges, which are held to be illegal under the provisions of the Act and the Bangalore Water Supply Regulations, 1965 by making suitable amendments to the Act, or the regulations.
