Chandigarh residents to pay more for water

Sandeep Rana

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Chandigarh, March 30

Brace for shelling out 1.50 per cent to 2.50 per cent more on your existing water bill from April onwards as the UT Administration on Wednesday issued a notification regarding water tariff, which was last year put on hold till March 31 citing Covid-19.

Though the Administration has brought down the rates in two of the four slabs, it has increased the annual rates from the current 3 per cent to 5 per cent. It has also kept the sewerage cess, which was raised to 30 per cent on the total water bill in 2020, unchanged.

As per the existing provision, notified on September 11, 2020, that was put on hold in May 2021, 0-15 kilolitre (KL) water use slab rate, which was Rs 2/kl, was raised to Rs 3/kl.

Similarly, 16-30/kl use, which was charged at Rs 4/kl, was raised to Rs 6/kl; 31-60 kl slab rate was increased from Rs 6/kl to Rs 12/kl; and above 60 kl slab rate was raised from Rs 8/kl to Rs 24/kl.

Now, as per the notification issued today, the first two slabs will have the same revised rates. However, in the wake of the demand for reducing the water rates, the Administration brought down the 31-60 kl slab rate from Rs 12/kl to Rs 10/kl and the above 60 kl slab rate from Rs 24/kl to Rs 20/kl.

To justify the hike in the rates, a communiqué of the Administration read, “It must be noted that the water tariff was not revised for the past 10 years i.e. since May 24, 2011. The cost of water supply and additional infrastructure has increased manifold since then, leading to continuous losses to the Municipal Corporation. In spite of the present notified rates, there are still losses of more than Rs 80 crore in the water supply and sewerage sectors.”

It further stated, “The rates in the first two slabs are comparable or even lower as compared to Punjab and Haryana. The water tariff in the higher category in Chandigarh is much lower than Delhi i.e. Rs 10/kl, Rs 20/kl vis-à-vis Rs 43.93/kl. The sewerage cess in Chandigarh is 30 per cent of the water volumetric charges and is much lower than Delhi, which is at 60 per cent,” it added.

However, the revision of rates does not seem to have gone down well with some residents, who expressed displeasure, and also the Opposition, which is slamming the BJP that rules the MC.

RK Garg, president of the Second Innings Association, said, “Residents have been cheated and poll promises have gone down the drain. There is no one to listen to people as there is no control over the bureaucracy. The ruling party is spineless and the opposition is helpless.”

Pardeep Chhabra, Chandigarh co-incharge, AAP, said, “The rates were put on hold till March 31 as part of the BJP’s election stunt. They are liars and today their real face has been exposed. The hike is an unnecessary burden on the people.”

Subhash Chawla, president, City Congress, said, “It is a huge burden on the people. The Congress will soon hold a meeting to chalk out its agitation programme against the water tariff hike.”

Ruling BJP not heard

The Administration did not even consider the BJP-ruled MC’s House resolution of March last year.

The BJP, which had a majority in the previous term, had passed a revised agenda to bring 31-60/kl slab rate to Rs 9/kl and the above 60/kl slab rate to Rs 16/kl. It had also approved that the sewerage cess be slashed from 30 per cent to 5 per cent, commercial units should be charged for actual consumption at the rate of Rs 25/kl and one-time 5 per cent annual hike after every three years. None of these points was considered.