Consumer council opposes proposal to increase water, sewerage tariff

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 26

The All India Consumer Council has opposed the proposed hike in water and sewerage charges in Dehradun city.

Brig KG Behl (retd), president of the All India Consumers Council, Uttarakhand, has expressed concern over the proposed hike in tariff of water and sewerage charges without explaining as to how it has been arrived at. Moreover, the proposed increase is not in consonance with the existing inflation rate, he said.

The council, in a press note issued here yesterday, said the Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan was going to increase the rates of water and sewerage with effect from April 1 this year by stating that the rates were being increased by 15 per cent since 2013, but now it is being increased from 9 to 11 per cent for domestic and 15 per cent for commercial purposes. It has not been specified as to how this increase is being done and on what basis it has been worked out. Since there are no water meters installed, it is not known that as to how the water bills are being made and charged. Similarly, on what basis sewerage charges are being increased. Even the drinking water which was scheduled to be supplied from the project taken under Asian Development Bank (ADB) has not been implemented, said Brig Behl. He said people were confused as to how the whole tariff was being calculated.

He requested the government to appoint a regulatory commission to go into the details of rates of water supply and sewer connections so that the whole income and expenditure could be analysed and put before consumers as being done in case of electricity where the UERC decides the tariff. Till than, the increase being proposed by the Jal Sansthan be stopped.

The council has requested the Chief Minister to appoint a committee to immediately look into the matter. The consumers are already suffering from increase in different prices of day to day articles of essential use and do not to wish to be burdened further.