A year before the municipal elections in 2020, the water tariff had been hiked by the administration by around 200 per cent. (File) The Chandigarh Administration on Wednesday hiked water tariffs in Chandigarh by up to 150 per cent, almost three months after Chandigarh’s civic body (Municipal Corporation) elections during which a status quo on the increase of tariffs was one of the main poll planks. The tariff was hiked from 50 to 150 per cent.
A year before the municipal elections in 2020, the water tariff had been hiked by the administration by around 200 per cent.
However, with the civic polls round the corner and after an uproar by various political parties, the hiked rates were put on hold last year till March 2022.
Later, all the political parties had promised to put a stop to the increase in water tariffs if they were voted to power in the civic polls.
In Chandigarh, till March 31, the old water tariffs that came into force in 2011, will be in force.
After the increase in water tariffs, Chandigarh residents will also have to pay a 30 per cent sewerage charge.
According to the new tariff that was approved, from 0-15 Kilo Litres (KL), the rate has now been hiked to Rs 3 per KL from the present Rs 2 per KL.
In the 16 to 30 KL category, the rate has been hiked to Rs 6 per KL from the present Rs 4 per KL.
In the 31 to 60 KL, it has been hiked to Rs 10 per KL from the present Rs 6 per KL, and for 60 KL and above category, the rate has been hiked to Rs 20 per KL from Rs 8 per KL.
While justifying the water tariff hike, the administration on Tuesday said that it had taken into account poor and middle-class households before notifying the new rates.
“The Administration has taken into consideration the poor and middle-class families while taking the decision of revising the water tariff rates,” a statement by the administration claimed.
It also said that the rates in the higher slabs have been fixed to prevent misuse of potable water.
A compliance mechanism with coercive measures will also be adopted to check any sort of violations, the statement said.
An official of the UT Administration said, “We are undertaking many improvements. We now supply water for more than 10 hours per day and we are striving to provide 24×7 supply to our city residents in the near future.”
‘The old water rates were not feasible’
The Chandigarh administration in a detailed statement on Wednesday justified the hike saying that the water rates had not been revised for the last ten years, even as the cost of water supply had increased manifolds.
“It must be noted that water tariff rates have not been revised for the last 10 years, since 2011. The cost of water supply and additional infrastructure has increased manifolds since the last tariff increase, leading to continuous losses to the Municipal Corporation of Chandigarh. In spite of the present notified rates, there are still losses of more than Rs 80 crore in water supply and sewerage sectors,” the Chandigarh administration stated.
The administration, while justifying the hike, also gave a comparative study of the rates with the ones in Panchkula and Mohali.
“It is further emphasised that the rates in the first two slabs are comparable or even lower as compared to the states of Punjab and Haryana,” it stated.
‘RATES ARE MUCH LOWER THAN DELHI WATER TARIFF’
The water tariff model of Delhi was pitched by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) during its campaign for the recently concluded Punjab Assembly elections, which it won by an overwhelming majority.
The AAP had promised that it will bring the Delhi model of water supply to Chandigarh and give 20,000 liters of water free to every family every month. The Chandigarh Administration on Wednesday mentioned the Delhi model while comparing it with the hiked rates.
“The water tariff rates in the higher category in Chandigarh are much lower than Delhi — that is Rs 10 KL, Rs. 20 KL vis-à-vis Rs 43.93 KL. The sewerage cess in Chandigarh is 30 per cent of water volumetric charges and that too is also much lower than Delhi, which is at 60 per cent,” the Chandigarh administration said.
UT releases data
As per data released by the Chandigarh Administration, the rates were kept nominal for the first two slabs, which covered the maximum number of families in Chandigarh.
In the first two slabs, the rates have been hiked by Re 1 and Rs 3 per KL and it will affect nearly 1,52,008 households.
The rates, on the other hand, were hiked more for the elite category which will affect at least 16,000 people.
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