The Hindu 22.08.2013
Nellai Corporation to raise water tax
Bowing to pressure from Frankfurt-based public sector bank
Amid dissenting voices raised by Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam and Congress councillors, the Corporation council has resolved
to accept the terms and conditions laid down by a German bank willing to
partly fund a Rs 230 crore drinking water project. Among the conditions
was a stipulation to raise the deposit for drinking water connections
as well as water tariff.
The Frankfurt-based public
sector bank, KfW, is ready to extend a loan of Rs 69 crore towards the
project provided its conditions are met. The cash-starved Corporation
will likely raise the monthly water tax from Rs. 100 to Rs. 200 and the
deposit from the existing Rs. 6,500 to Rs. 10,000 per domestic
connection. The deposit in the case of commercial connections will be
Rs. 20,000.
During a power- point presentation at the
council meeting here on Wednesday, Executive Engineer V. Narayanan Nair
said the population, which stands at 4.75 lakh, is projected to be 4.95
lakh in 2014, 5.92 lakh in 2029 and 6.88 lakh in 2044. The Corporation,
which was getting 55 million litres of drinking water a day (MLD)
against the actual requirement of 67.11 MLD, was able to supply only 116
litres per day per person against the stipulated quantity of 135
litres, a shortfall of 50 million litres a day. The situation would be
worse when the supply dwindles to 30 MLD.
The
proposed drinking water project envisages drawing water from the
Ariyanayagipuram check-dam, located at the confluence of the
Tamirabharani, Manimuthar and Gadana rivers. A water treatment plant
will be constructed on the Kamaraj Corporation Higher Secondary School
premises at Pettai.
“Above all, the existing drinking
water network will be integrated with the proposed new scheme so that
the supply to every part of the Corporation will be effective,” Mr. Nair
said. He estimated the cost per 1,000 litres of water supplied to the
residents would be Rs. 11.52 under the new project.
Mayor
Vijila Sathyananth said Rs. 69 crore (30 per cent of the total project
cost) would be obtained from KfW as loan and Rs. 92 crore (40 per cent
of the project cost) would be the grant released by the Integrated Urban
Development Mission. The German bank will also sanction a subsidy of
Rs. 46 crore (20 per cent of the total cost) in addition to the Rs 69
crore loan. The remaining 10 per cent of the project cost of Rs. 23
crore would be borne by the Corporation.
“We’ll have
to bear the annual recurring expenditure of Rs. 11 crore for maintaining
and operating the new scheme. Therefore, the upward revision of
drinking water tax and deposit is unavoidable,” said Ms. Vijila amid
protests by opposition councillors.
The council passed the resolution for an upward revision of deposits and water tax.