Deccan Herald 13.11.2013
CM asks BWSSB to take a call on water tariff hike
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has asked Bangalore
Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) to take a decision on water
tariff hike after consulting the board members. There was no need for
the government or the Cabinet to give its consent, he said.
At
a recent meeting, BWSSB chairperson M S Ravishankar briefed the chief
minister on the problems faced by the Board in supplying water to the
City. “The chief minister has asked us to go ahead with the water tariff
hike after discussing with the board members. Since Urban Development
Department (UDD) Principal Secretary has gone abroad, we are waiting for
his return. A meeting will be called shortly wherein we will discuss
the tariff hike,” he added.
According to Board sources, the UDD
had proposed that the work of restoration of roads after they are dug up
for repair work should be executed by BWSSB. But the Board has stated
that they do not have funds nor the expertise to do so. Besides, BWSSB
is bearing the brunt of power hike charges.
Although the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) has revised power charges several times, BWSSB has not been lucky. The water tariff has not been hiked due to political pressure by the previous government and the Board ended up supplying water free of cost to many areas, especially to newly added BBMP areas.
First, the Board faced public wrath for not supplying water when the Cauvery IV Stage II Phase was commissioned in October 2012. The challenge lies in the newly added City Municipal Council areas. BWSSB officials have started a campaign to visit houses personally to ask residents to avail new connections or to regularise existing connections. Sources from BWSSB office in KR Puram said convincing the residents has become a huge task.
