The Chattogram Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (WASA) procured 90,000 water meters in three phases throughout the last five years, at a cost of nearly Tk 270 million.
The last ones were purchased two years ago, and the authorities has already installed those across the city.
When things are perfectly fine, the port city water supply authorities have developed an apprehension that the meters can be engineered externally to produce distorted bills.
Hence, they have undertaken a new project worth Tk 2 billion to procure another 90,000 meters and remove the previous ones.
The Chattogram WASA engineers argued that the prevailing meters are mechanical and require officials to visit the spots and verify the meter readings manually.
Hence, they are purchasing digital meters to ensure an automatic billing process.
While purchasing the old ones, they came up with a similar assurance and claimed they are buying high-quality meters to facilitate an accurate billing system.
However, experts described the decision to replace the existing meters within just five years as a complete waste of public money and blamed Chattogram WASA’s flawed planning for the situation.
In favour of the new project, the WASA said they will no longer need to travel door-to-door to verify meter readings as the new meters will automatically produce the bills through software.
While purchasing the old ones, they came up with a similar assurance and said they are buying high-quality meters to facilitate an accurate billing system.
The Chattogram WASA supplies water to 78,542 residences and 7,767 commercial establishments. It then charged each of the clients nearly Tk 4,000 for the mechanical meter, and the cost of the new ones will also be passed on to the clients.
SM Nazar Hossain, vice president of the Consumers' Association Bangladesh (CAB), told Prothom Alo that the Chattogram WASA is set to shift the cost burden to the clients for the second time. He alleged the new project has been undertaken considering the benefit of officials, instead of the consumers’ interests.
Experts contended that the Italian and Turkish meters can last up to seven to eight years. However, the quality of the procured meters is a big issue here.
According to sources, the first consignment of mechanical meters was procured in January 2018, followed by subsequent purchases in June 2019. Under the Karnaphuli Water Supply Project (Phase-2), they purchased a total of 50,000 meters in two phases from an Italian company, at a cost of Tk 104 million in total and Tk 2,079 per piece.
The Chattogram WASA procured another 15,000 meters at a cost of Tk 57 million in 2020 and 25,000 more -- worth Tk 106 million -- from Turkey in 2022. The consolidated procurement cost stood at Tk 267 million.
The chief engineer of Chattogram WASA, Maksud Alam, claimed that the mechanical meters typically have a lifespan of four to five years. But Mijanur Rahman, a mechanical engineering department professor at Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology (CUET), contended that the Italian and Turkish meters can last up to seven to eight years. However, the quality of the procured meters is a big issue here.
Now, a new project – Chattogram Water Supply Improvement Project – is set to begin in June, to install a new pipeline along a 300-kilometer stretch for supplying water to 50,000 consumers. Besides, a total of 90,000 digital meters will be procured at a cost of nearly Tk 15,000 each.
The Tk 30 billion project will be funded by the World Bank, where around Tk 2 billion has been allocated for water meter procurement, installment, and maintenance.
Such a big waste could have been avoided had the digital meters been procured in the first phase.Rashidul Hasan, dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning at CUET
Controversy over meter procurement
The Chattogram WASA officials had visited Italy and Turkey to verify the quality of meters in their respective factories before procurement. The authorities claimed that the water meters are excellent in quality and are being used in different developed countries, including European ones.
If these are so good in quality, why are the authorities now taking on a new project to replace them? Even in 2022, the Chattogram WASA started a project to procure 3,000 digital meters and the installation process is still underway. The project was supposed to be completed within six months.
On the condition of anonymity, five clients and a board member of Chattogram WASA alleged that the authorities carry out the purchases whimsically without any certain plan. Now, they are planning to purchase another 90,000 meters, while the installation of previously purchased meters is still underway.
In response to criticism, Chattogram WASA Managing Director AKM Fazlullah defended the decision, saying they are purchasing the digital meters given the vulnerability of the mechanical ones.
Why were the digital meters not purchased earlier? He, in response, cited the constantly changing reality in meter management across the world. He also mentioned that the clients did not have the ability to purchase the costly digital meters. As their purchasing power has increased now, the authorities are going for digital meters now.
However, Rashidul Hasan, dean of the Faculty of Architecture and Planning at CUET, lambasted the lack of a proper plan in meter procurement. While talking to Prothom Alo, he said such a big waste could have been avoided had the digital meters been procured in the first phase.
In the current reality, the authorities should formulate a certain plan on how the digital meters will be installed. Also, they should not replace the mechanical meters that are running perfectly now, he added.