The Hindu 03.11.2014
New water tariff to deter people from wasting water
Sanitary & service charges linked to water usage
The new water tariff announced by Bangalore Water Supply
and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is aimed at encouraging citizens to conserve
water.
According to Anjum Parwez, BWSSB’s Managing
Director, the tariff has been fixed in such a way that it will deter
people from wasting water. “Unless people are economical in using
water,they will have to pay up,” he said.
BWSSB
sources point out that the average water consumption by a family of four
is around 13 kilo litres per month. This falls under the consumption
slab of eight to 25 kilo litres of water, and that has seen only 20 per
cent hike in tariff. However, as the consumption of water increases, so
does the hike in tariff. In some cases, the traffic hike is as high as
60 per cent. This will have a bearing on the total water bill as the
sanitary charges and water meter service charges are calculated based on
water consumption. BWSSB has linked all components to water
consumption.
The only decrease in the new tariff is
in the sanitary charges for connections that consume up to eight kilo
litres of water per month. It has been reduced by a rupee to Rs 14.
Mr.
Parwez said households that consume less than eight kilo litres of
water per month are those in the slums and the sanitary charges has been
reduced to incentivise the communities Below Poverty Line (BPL) to use
sanitary services.
Expenditure
A
communiqué states that while the current expenditure is put at Rs. 82
crore a month, revenue sums up to Rs. 50 crore thus leading to a deficit
of Rs. 32 crore. The present hike will help BWSSB bridge the gap by
around Rs. 24 crore. The water utility hopes to bridge the remaining
deficit of Rs. 7.73 crore by plugging leakage.
Mr.
Parwez said that BWSSB has been staying afloat utilising funds from
capital receipts – pro rata charges – meant to be spent on asset
building. “This warranted the tariff hike. If the usage of capital
receipts on the day-to- day maintenance had continued, the board would
not have had any funds to invest on new assets,” he added.
