The civic body has received a bill of Rs 294 crore for the water supply in the city from the French wells in the Mahi riverbed.

For drawing water from the French wells, which take care nearly half of the city's water supply, the VMC had been in agreement with the department for the Panam Irrigation scheme. As per the earlier understanding, the corporation just had to pay the maintenance amount, which was not too high. But with the agreement coming undone, the department slapped the bill with revised rates. It not only included the water charges, but also the penalty amount as well as the interest incurred.

Shocked by this, the VMC standing committee is now contemplating taking up the matter with the state government, while Congress councillors have begun to train guns on the issue.

Chirag Zaveri, the Leader of Opposition in the corporation, has criticised the move, saying the irrigation department should have understood that VMC is a civic body and not an industry or profit making venture. According to VMC authorities, they have already paid the dues for the period between April 2005 to August 2007.