Industries in Karnataka must pay 100 times more for water

BENGALURU: The Karnataka government has revised the tariff of water — drawn from reservoirs, canals, lakes, dams, and used for industrial purposes — by nearly 100 times, from Rs 3,200 to Rs 3 lakh for every million cubic feet (MCft). The tariff of water drawn from natural resources like rivers has gone up by more than 80 times — from Rs 1,800 per MCft to Rs 1.5 lakh.

Industry bosses termed the May 28 order an unsustainable hike. Fearing this might impact business margin and hurt consumers, industry representatives are meeting chief minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday.

“The CM may not be aware of the move as it could be among the last decisions of the previous government. We’ll apprise him of our concerns and request him to roll back the decision,” Bangalore Chamber of Industry & Commerce president Kishore Alva said. More than 70% of 52,545 companies use water from these resources.

The industry is upset that the government did not consult them before the tariff revision. Alva said the burden, especially on those in power, iron and steel sectors, would be unmanageable.

WATER TARIFF HIKE

‘Industries can’t be burdened’

Ramana Kumar, secretary, Karnataka Iron and Steel Manufacturers’ Association, said: “About 30% of our industries are not functioning and more than 50% have reduced capacities. The hike comes as a body blow. We’ll write to the government.”

The government order, a copy of which is with TOI, justifies the move, citing tariffs in Kerala, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The rates are Rs 4 lakh per MCft (Kerala), Rs 5 lakh (Gujarat) and Rs 7 lakh (Maharashtra).

Vinod Nowal, deputy managing director, JSW Steel, said they use 2.5 cubic metres of water for each tonne of steel and the cost going up from 11 paise per cubic metre to Rs 10.59 is a huge burden.

“This comes after hikes in power tax and petrol and diesel prices. While we understand the government needs revenue, we cannot be burdened more than we can handle,” said former FKCCI president K Ravi.

Industry representatives said crores of rupees have been spent on creating infrastructure to draw water and such industries must be charged less.