Open house: Is the annual hike in essential service charges justified?
The Chandigarh Administration is bent on filling up its empty coffers by repeatedly hiking the rates of essential services. The city population comprises mostly service class and retired persons who are already paying a good amount in taxes. The administration should explain the reasons for hiking the rates and save itself from inviting the wrath of the residents and Opposition parties.
NPS Sohal, Chandigarh
Hike in service charges not justified
The annual hike in the rates of essential services is not justified. The administration should first take steps to improve these services and look for other ways to increase the income of the department concerned as well as sanitation workers by efficiently managing these services.
Sonu Verma, Chandigarh
Look for other steps to increase revenue
Instead of hiking the rates of essential services, the MC should increase its revenue by curbing theft of water and plugging leakages in water lines, collecting dues of bills and house tax from defaulters, cutting down on official vehicles allocated to MC officers, effectively managing the garbage collection system, on-the-spot issuing of bills by meter readers etc.
Kirpal Singh
High salaries, pensions to blame
The regulatory commission finalises power tariff by clubbing expenses born by the Electricity Department. Salaries and pensions of employees are high, hence tariff increases every year. These salaries and pensions are not paid by government but recovered from the consumers. So the JERC should consider salaries according to minimum wages while finalising the tariff and direct the government to foot the difference of salaries and pensions. Similar steps should be taken for deciding water and garbage-collection charges.
Ravinder Varma, Chandigarh
Improve service too
The increase in the charges of water and garbage collection as well as electricity tariff will put financial burden on residents. The increase has to be justified by improving the quality of these services. Keeping wastage of water and loss of electricity in check may help the MC in reducing the tariff hike. An equal increase in the charges for both residential and commercial consumers cannot be justified at all. Charges could have been increased in phases based on the usages of these services.
Wg Cdr JS Minhas (retd), Mohali
Annual hike a necessity
Keeping in view the rising prices of goods and services every year, it is necessary to comparatively increase the rates to sustain power, water and garbage-collection services. It becomes very difficult to recover dues. Nothing should be subsidised when it comes to the maintenance of the City Beautiful.
Ashok Kumar Goel, Panchkula
Low-income group to be hit hard
The residents will have to pay 5% more for water and garbage collection, while 10.25% for power. People in the low-income group might feel burdened. The authorities could have gradually increased the charges. People are still trying to get over their financial liabilities post Covid 19 and the simultaneous increase in the charges of essential services would add to their misery.
Namya Seth
Increase salaries accordingly
One would certainly pay extra for regular services. The authorities should also focus on improving these services at the same time. If there is a hike in the charges, then there should be a proportional increase in the salary of citizens. An increase of 2-3% in power tariff is fine, but 10% hike is unacceptable. So, the hike in the charges is not at all justified.
Sushree Priyadarshini, Chandigarh
Ensure services at affordable charges
It is the duty of the administration to ensure essential services without burdening common man. The need of the hour is to ensure these services at affordable charges. Other methods to generate revenue such as advertising should be considered.
Col TBS Bedi, Mohali
Burden on residents
It is most disappointing that the authorities are hiking the rates of basic services one after the other. The annual hike on essential services will put a tremendous burden on residents. Services like water supply are a basic need and should be within everybody’s reach. The authorities should keep in mind that higher prices mean a better service delivery to improve people’s lives.
Anureet Dhami, Zirakpur
Withdraw hike
Residents of the city are already burdened with taxes and increasing the charges of essential services annually is not justified. The Chandigarh Administration should withdraw the hike.
MR Bhateja, Nayagaon
Hold talks with RWAs, market committees
The proposed increase in the charges of essential services will further burden the poor. It is the basic duty of any administration to provide basic amenities to its law-abiding citizens at affordable charges. Policies and actions should reflect the basic objective of democracy: “Government of the people, by the people and for the people”. The administration, in consultation with the RWAs and market committees, should focus on alternative sources of revenue as well as keep wastage of water and electricity in check. It should also ensure the optimum utilisation of resources and curb avoidable expenditures.
Vijay Shukla, Chandigarh
Curb wasteful expenditure
Increasing the water charges is a welcome step. It will help curb water wastage. The annual hike in taxes is burdening people already reeling under high inflation. The MC should focus on cutting down on wasteful expenditure and curbing corruption. Chandigarh contributes a lot to the GDP. The administration should not be reluctant to demand more funds from the Centre and complete the pending projects to generate more revenue.
Col BS Mathauda (retd), Chandigarh
Improve basic amenities
Administration is unnecessarily increasing the charges for essential services without bringing about any improvement in basic amenities. The MC is grappling with the fiscal crunch and trying to tide it over by putting burden on the residents. The increase should be rolled back.
Abhilasha Gupta, Chandigarh
Don’t make MC profit-making body
In a bid to enhance its revenue, the MC has increased the charges for various essential services for 2023-24. This annual hike is not justified at all, as residents are already facing financial hardship in the wake of Covid-19. The MC should not be run as a profit-making institution. It should find other ways to generate more revenue, instead of putting unnecessary burden on the residents. I feel the authorities should review their decision.
Vidya Sagar Garg, Panchkula
Don’t waste funds on unproductive events
The proposed hike will further hit hard the public already reeling under high inflation. The increase must be withdrawn to mitigate financial sufferings of the public. The Electricity Department must focus on cutting down on transmission losses, curbing kundi culture and properly managing street lights to improve its financial condition. Public funds should not be spent on unproductive events such as educational jaunts and VIP shows.
SS Arora, Mohali
Rationalise charges for trash collection
Before hiking the charges, the MC and the administration must improve essential services, so that there is no hue and cry. The garbage-collection charges should be in proportion to the water charges. It’s not justifiable a family of four pays the same garbage-collection charges as that of 10. The Electricity Department should focus on curbing the kundi practice to cut its losses.
Savita Kuthiala
It’s public exploitation
Residents will have to pay 5 per cent more for water and garbage collection, and 10.25% more for power usage from April 1. The annual hike on these essential services should not be justified. Any type of exploitation should not be tolerable.
Adish Sood
10.25% increase in power tariff too high
The new garbage-collection system is not working properly. Collectors are not lifting garbage from the doorstep of those living on upper floors, are not regular and don’t adhere to the timings. The 24×7 water supply is a bad idea as it will lead to wastage. Ensure a better water pressure across the city. The 10.25% hike in the power tariff is quite high and should not be more than 5%. The department should focus on reducing power cuts and disruptions.
Bharat Bhushan Sharma
Hike illogical
The proposed hike has disappointed residents. They are being burdened with hefty levies without any reason. It is an unwanted financial burden on the residents.
Anita K Tandon, Mundi Kharar
No regular collection of garbage in city
While residents keep complaining about discrepancies in the garbage-collection system, the MC just wants to fill its coffers by increasing the charges for essential services. At the last general House meeting, several councillors had raised the issue of irregular collection of garbage.
Sanjay Chopra, Mohali
Impose levies on luxury services
There is no improvement in the services of the water and electricity departments. The administration should ensure 24X7 water supply and power free of unscheduled cuts in the city. The administration has already imposed my levies on the citizens and this hike will further burden them. It can earn extra revenue by imposing taxes on luxury services such as liquor vends.
Sunny Dhaliwal, Chandigarh
Everything comes at a price
Everything comes at a price. However, the hike should not be more than 5 per cent. There could be separate hikes for commercial and residential consumers. Common man is already burdened due to high inflation.
Avinash Goyal, Chandigarh
Electricity tariff hike a big blow
There is going to be extra financial burden on the residents on account of hike in the rates for water and electricity usage. The annual hike of 10.25% on the power tariff is a huge blow. The administration should have carried out a survey for assessing the paying cost of the citizens as all of them are not employed. There is a wide gap between the rich and the poor. The hike may lead to increased cases of power and water pilferage. Rather than increasing the tariff, the administration should have taken steps to contain power transmission losses and plug water leakages.
Dr Anil Kumar Yadav, Chandigarh
Reduce hike in water charges
The 5% propose hike in garbage-collection charges has come at a time when residents are pointing out discrepancies in the system. Baljinder Singh Bittu, chairman, Federation of Sectors Welfare Association of Chandigarh, has accused the MC of burdening residents with these simultaneous hikes in essential service charges. In my perspective, the 5% hike in garbage-collection charges is fine but water charges should be reduced by some per cent. There should be a proper disposal of waste to have an efficient recycling process. It is rightly quoted “We may have a plan B, but not a planet B”.
Manseerat Kaur, Chandigarh
Ensure quality services
The public is ready to accept the hike, provided the corporation ensures quality and uninterrupted essential services. If people can afford a bottle of water for Rs 20, then they should not mind paying Rs 20 per kilo litre, provided quality is maintained. The public should also cooperate with the authorities by judiciously using water and not wasting it on washing cars, cleaning courtyards and watering lawns. The same goes in terms of power. A proper relationship between the supply and use must be maintained.
Sqn Ldr MS Johar (retd), Chandigarh
Spend entire funds given by Centre
It is an integral function of any civic body to take care of a city’s development and ensure the delivery of essential services. However, a hike in the charges of such essential services is unjustified. The authorities must aim at fully spending the funds allocated to it in the Union Budget, instead of trying to generate more revenue by way of hikes. There should also be a focus on improving the quality of these services. Only if the water supply and waste collection system are up to the mark will such a tariff hike stand justified.
Saikrit Gulati, Chandigarh
Curtail expenses
Most residents of Chandigarh are salaried persons or pensioners. Their salary doesn’t increase in proportion to the annual hike in charges. The MC should not hike charges of essential services like this rather cut down on their unnecessary expenses or try to generate revenue from alternative resources.
Sukhwant Bhullar, Chandigarh
QUESTION
The MC has had to suffer losses twice after two firms given paid parking contracts failed to pay licence fee worth Rs 10.69 crore. What steps should the civic body take to ensure firms given contract don’t default on payment after collecting parking charges from residents?
Suggestions in not more than 70 words can be sent to openhouse@tribunemail.com
