The Times of India 05.04.2010
'Increasing water tariff should be the last resort'
BANGALORE: The proposed water tariff hike hasn’t gone down well with BWSSB’s former officials.
Ex-chairman B N Thyagaraja slammed it as a ‘real shock to citizens.’
He called for a review of the Board’s existing expenditure and find if anything else can be reduced before proposing hike in charges. Thyagaraja, who worked in BWSSB from 1960 to 1991 and retired as chairman, mooted a regulatory authority to oversee hikes on the lines of power companies.
The government on Friday announced tariff in Bangalore will increase by 33 to 200 per cent.
“Only after reviewing existing expenditure, hike proposals should be worked out. As per prevailing rules, the Board should first notify the proposed tariff and then call for public objections, giving them 30 days. After receiving objections, the same should be reviewed by the Board. It can change tariff if necessary, and then send proposals to the government,” Thyagaraja pointed out.
Earlier, the government used to form a committee comprising city legislators and some Palike members to review the recommendations. “Legislators like T R Shamanna, A Lakshmi Sagar, V S Krishna Iyer and R Chandrashekar used to assess the proposals. Even an increase by one paisa wasn’t allowed unless justified. Only after their recommendation, was the final proposal approved and implemented.”
“Since more than 50% of the Board revenue goes towards power charges, the government passed an order that whenever there’s hike in the charges, BWSSB can raise water tariff only to cover increase in power cost without calling for objections. But hiking charges without consulting the public is wrong. Capital expenditure of the project component cannot be included in the water tariff. The amount has to be borrowed for execution, and water tariff should include only the interest component,” Thyagaraja pointed out.
It is high time that resident welfare associations raised the issue and studied the proposals threadbare before they are implemented, he said. “The government should also form a regulatory authority to review and approve hike proposals,” he added.
Ex-chairman B N Thyagaraja slammed it as a ‘real shock to citizens.’
He called for a review of the Board’s existing expenditure and find if anything else can be reduced before proposing hike in charges. Thyagaraja, who worked in BWSSB from 1960 to 1991 and retired as chairman, mooted a regulatory authority to oversee hikes on the lines of power companies.
The government on Friday announced tariff in Bangalore will increase by 33 to 200 per cent.
“Only after reviewing existing expenditure, hike proposals should be worked out. As per prevailing rules, the Board should first notify the proposed tariff and then call for public objections, giving them 30 days. After receiving objections, the same should be reviewed by the Board. It can change tariff if necessary, and then send proposals to the government,” Thyagaraja pointed out.
Earlier, the government used to form a committee comprising city legislators and some Palike members to review the recommendations. “Legislators like T R Shamanna, A Lakshmi Sagar, V S Krishna Iyer and R Chandrashekar used to assess the proposals. Even an increase by one paisa wasn’t allowed unless justified. Only after their recommendation, was the final proposal approved and implemented.”
“Since more than 50% of the Board revenue goes towards power charges, the government passed an order that whenever there’s hike in the charges, BWSSB can raise water tariff only to cover increase in power cost without calling for objections. But hiking charges without consulting the public is wrong. Capital expenditure of the project component cannot be included in the water tariff. The amount has to be borrowed for execution, and water tariff should include only the interest component,” Thyagaraja pointed out.
It is high time that resident welfare associations raised the issue and studied the proposals threadbare before they are implemented, he said. “The government should also form a regulatory authority to review and approve hike proposals,” he added.
