Water tariffs in the Capital went up by 10 per cent with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) clearing the hike on Thursday, months after the annual rate revision was supposed to take place.
This year, the hike had been deferred by the DJB till an elected government could take a call on it. On Thursday, at the first Board meeting chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the water utility decided in favour of the hike in order to “keep its financial health intact”.
The ruling-Aam Aadmi Party had taken a stand in its election manifesto against the automatic hike, which was introduced by the then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in 2009. Apart from 2013 and this year, water tariffs had automatically gone up on January 1 every year.
The AAP’s 70-point action plan, released before the Assembly elections in February, was against the automatic hike.
“The mandatory annual 10 percent hike in water tariffs will be abolished and any further hike will be made only after due consideration,” stated the AAP’s action plan.
Delhi Government spokesperson Nagendar Sharma said: “This is the DJB’s decision, but like all decisions with a financial implication, it will be looked into by the government.”
DJB officials said the financial reality of the water utility necessitated the hike. The DJB is already giving 20,000 litres of water to households with metered connections free of charge, as per the AAP Government’s policy.
The subsidy will end up costing the government Rs.250 crore annually. Meanwhile, the DJB also took a decision to make legalisation of unauthorised connections easier. Those with illegal connections can now pay a one-time fee of Rs.3,310 instead of the previous Rs.20,000 to get them legalised. DJB officials said this would encourage consumers to opt for legal connections and would make water accounting easier.
The DJB also decided to give a 100 per cent rebate on late payment charges for those consumers who clear their bills before March 31.
