Deccan Chronicle 16.12.2009

After power, water tariff may go up

Dec. 15: In a domino effect, the hike in the power tariff may lead to an increase in water tariff as the BWSSB tries to recoup the additional expense thrust on it while pumping and supplying water to people in the city. According to principal secretary, urban development -D.Thangaraj.

While the BWSSB had not yet arrived on a consensus on raising the water tariff, it may be forced to do so to meet administrative expenses.

The BWSSB has incurred an additional expense of 10.2 per cent due to the hike in power tariff, water board sources said. A board meeting will be held in consultation with its financial adviser to discuss a new tariff, they added.

Also, the BWSSB intends to collect meter installation charges from consumers instead of fitting them free of cost as is being done today. The meter cost will be collected in instalments in the water bills, sources said.

Speaking on the sidelines of a national conference on urban water management here on Tuesday, Mr Thangaraj said an agency to make recommendations on revision of water tariff was on the cards on the lines of the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Board (KERC) which looks into power tariff.

But for the time being a council with experts may be set up to do the job, he added. The other option was to put in place an independent mechanism such as the one which decides fare revision for BMTC and KSRTC buses, he said.

According to him, both formulas have been suggested to the government which will take a final call. He promised that in future any revision of water tariff would be discussed threadbare with stakeholders before it is introduced. Besides the tariff, quality and, quantum of BWSSB services would also be assessed by the council in the pipeline. Secretary, Union ministry of urban development, M. Ramachandra said Rs 55,000 crore would be ploughed into various projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) with World Bank aid. During the first phase, a billion dollars would be spent on a few projects, including integrated water management, he said.

If rainwater harvesting, recycling of water and potential use of ground water is followed in the city, at least 50 per cent of Cauvery water could be pumped to newly added areas, said A.R. Shivakumar, executive secretary in-charge, Karnataka State Council for Science and Technology, IISc.