Partial rollback of water tariff hike likely in Chandigarh

Tribune News Service

Sandeep Rana

Chandigarh, March 28

Water tariff hike, which has been put on hold till March 31, is likely to be implemented from April 1 with a partial rollback.

According to sources, the sewerage cess is likely to be brought down from the current 30 per cent of the total water bill to 10 per cent. Also, there will be a reduction in the rates in the top two slabs, which saw up to 100% and 200% increase in tariff.

“The Adviser, at a meeting held today, assured us to bring down the cess to 10 per cent and implement the rates as per the MC House’s resolution passed in October 2020,” claimed Mayor Sarabjit Kaur. In September 2020, after the House approval, the UT Administration had notified an increase in the water tariff between 50 per cent and 200 per cent, depending upon the category of users and the water-consumption level.

However, after facing criticism from the public and the Opposition, the MC General House had later passed a resolution in October 2020 with a request to the Administration to withdraw the notification and levy the existing charges till the pandemic was over.

The UT Administration had decided to hold back the water tariff hike till March this year, citing the pandemic.

Water tariff hike issue to rock MC House meeting AAP has demanded a full debate at the MC House meeting to be held on March 29. “AAP has made a request to the Mayor to include this issue as an agenda item in the House meeting. But our requested has not been accepted by the Mayor,” said Prem Garg, president of the city AAP.

He said the Mayor had earlier assured the House that the BJP would not let the water tariff hike to be implemented and would take all 35 councillors to the Administrator to protest. “However, during the meeting with the Adviser, the BJP Mayor spoke in unison with the Administration and wanted AAP and the Congress to accept the revision in tariff with slight modifications,” he alleged.

Chander Mukhi Sharma, senior leader of AAP, demanded instead of increasing the water tariff, the administration should plug leakages and regularise the unauthorised connections.

The Congress and the SAD are also going to make the water tariff hike an issue tomorrow.

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