Hyderabad: Industries
and commercial establishments in and around the city should brace for a
steep hike in drinking water tariff as the Hyderabad Water Board has
proposed a 100 per cent hike. However, domestic consumers will be
spared.

Department officials will make a detailed
presentation to Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy regarding the necessity
to hike the tariff.

The CM’s
approval is mandatory to revise tariffs as he is the chairman of the
Water Board. “We are expecting to meet the Chief Minister within a
week,” said a senior official.

The Water Board, which hopes
to raise Rs 600 crore through the tariff hike, has blamed the
electricity tariff hike and FSA charges in power bills for compelling it
to propose the tariff hike.

Sources
said that the Board’s expenditure has crossed Rs 1,000 crore against
its annual income of Rs 750 crore. The establishment charges are all set
to go up due to the pay revision. Water tariff had been hiked for
consumers of all categories in December 2011.

The Board
consumes huge electricity to pump Krishna, Manjira and Singur water to
the city and its electricity dues have touched nearly Rs 300 crore.

Highly
placed sources told DC that Water Board officials have also proposed an
“annual automatic tariff revision” for all category consumers in
addition to the main proposal of 100 per cent increase in water tariff
for industrial and commercial consumers.

There are 1,500
industrial and water-based industrial connections that together pay
nearly Rs 220 crore water bills every year. The Board wants to collect
over Rs 440 through the hike.