Admin sets a deadline, Chandigarh set to see increased water tariffs from April 1

The UT Administration’s latest declaration has left residents, who voted to elect councillors to the civic body barely three months ago, in a lurch. A status quo on a hike on water tariffs was one of the main poll planks during the Chandigarh municipality elections that took place in December last year.

Officials said that the water tariff issue will be tabled before a select panel of political representatives on Monday, where a final discussion will take place.

Earlier, the administration had put the increased water tariff (which had been hiked by as much as 200%) was put on hold till March 31, 2022, in September last year owing to the Chandigarh civic polls.

Now with March 31 approaching fast, a number of political parties have already sent representations to the UT administration asking that the water tariffs not be hiked and the hiked rates continue to be put on hold. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has in fact asked the administrator to implement the Delhi model of 20,000 litres of water free to every family every month.

Chandigarh Adviser Dharam Pal while speaking to The Indian Express on Friday said, “ We just heard the councillors. We have not proposed any rates yet. The rates were proposed by the corporation last year, which were later put on hold till March 31. We told them that either they should suggest a new model or the hiked rates given by them will come into force from April 1.”

The Adviser added that the Chandigarh civic body was in dire need of funds in order to function.

“There has to be a sustainable solution. If they want to declare the Corporation bankrupt then they can tell us. Even the government wants a plan to know how much has a department recovered and the amount of expenditure that it has incurred. So there has to be a sustainable solution.”

The idea of coming up with a reasonable calculation for a water tariff hike was put forth in an all-party meeting of councillors that was held Wednesday. Now, three councillors from each party have been called on Monday to hold final discussions on the issue.

Sources stated that the UT administration officials had clearly communicated to the councillors that the present arrangement of no hike cannot continue as the civic body was cash strapped and water rates hadn’t been hiked for long.

Chandigarh Mayor Sarabjit Kaur, during Wednesday’s meeting, had proposed that a slab of Rs 3 to Rs 12 per kilolitre (KL) be introduced so that people do not feel the pinch of the hike and the corporation also managed to make some money.

“I had suggested that a middle path be chosen. So I proposed that the rate, which was Rs 4 per KL, be reduced to Rs 3 per KL, the rate which was Rs 9 per KL be reduced to Rs 6 per KL, the rate which was Rs 12 per KL be reduced to Rs 9 KL and the one which was Rs 24 per KL be reduced to Rs 12 per KL,” she said, adding, “This way we can hike the water tariff and not burn a hole in the pocket of the residents.”

Chandigarh Aam Aadmi Party, however, strongly objected to the administration’s threat of a tariff hike stating that the UT admin feared tabling the issue in the general House meeting and thus has called a select meeting of councillors.

“ An all-party meeting was convened by the Administration recently where only one councillor from each party was invited. The meeting was addressed by the Adviser. BJP had all three — Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor — while one representative each from the AAP and the Congress was called. All officials were present. At the meeting, the administration tried to persuade the councillors to accept the idea of implementing a 30% increase in water tariff in the northern sectors and commercial consumers,” AAP convener Prem Garg said.

The Chandigarh administration, however, clarified that they had not proposed any rates and have instead asked the councillors to come up with a model.

“ Instead of discussing the matter in the committee of few councillors the matter should be discussed in a full House meeting and councillors should take a collective decision that whether the revised water tariff be kept in abeyance or not. In fact, they fear that the revised water tariffs will be rejected because we are in majority and the Congress, too, is against this hike,” Garg stated.

He added that Mayor Kaur met the administrator alone and could not convince him to not increase the water tariff, whereas in the House meeting held in January and February she had made tall claims that she will take all 35 councillors with her to the administrator.