Calcutta’s civic authorities said on Thursday that they were ready to provide residential buildings with additional connections for filtered water, provided the applicants were prepared to pay for them at commercial rates.

“There are a number of houses in which the owners are embroiled in a dispute among themselves or with their tenants over water supply,” said mayor Subrata Mukherjee, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he is attending an international conference.

“Our new policy is aimed at providing them with relief as well as earning revenue for ourselves,” the mayor clarified.

Municipal commissioner Debasish Som, before leaving for London, had issued the necessary orders to the water supply department on the new policy.

“Disputes over water supply are a regular feature in buildings that are fully occupied by tenants or jointly by tenants and the owners. This policy of an additional ferrule will help avert unnecessary quarrels, if they can afford it,” said mayoral council member (water supply) Sovan Chatterjee.

Earlier, the civic policy on residential buildings had been “one premise, one ferrule”. Now, in deviation of the old policy, the Calcutta Municipal Corporation (CMC) has decided to allow more than one ferrule in a single premise. Supply through the additional ferrule will be charged at commercial rates.

The CMC charges Rs 500 a month for supply through a 10-mm ferrule and Rs 1,100 a month for a 15-mm ferrule. Since this rate was too high for domestic users, the Trinamul Congress board had suggested that the mayor charge them per quarter instead of by the month.

“A decision on the rates for an additional ferrule for domestic use will be taken after the mayor and the municipal commissioner return,” said mayoral council member Anup Chatterjee.

Following a rollback of water tax on the basis of property value, households with a filtered water connection of 10-mm and 15-mm ferrules have been exempted from paying for their water.

The rollback, thus, destroyed the prospect of harnessing a revenue to the tune of Rs 20 crore a year. The policy of allowing additional ferrules at residential addresses and charging commercial rates will help the CMC compensate the loss to some extent.

Though the number of houses in the 141 wards of the city exceeds 600,000, the number with filtered water connections are about 250,000. And only 40,000 of them pay a water tax for supply through 20-mm and 25-mm ferrules. Besides, only 12,000 shops and commercial establishments have filtered water connections of their own.