Water rates in the Capital will stay the same for now, as the Delhi Jal Board has once again deferred the annual hike in tariffs till its next meeting.
The water tariffs were supposed to automatically go up by 10 per cent on January 1, but the Board had deferred the same during its last meeting on December 26.
The proposal regarding the increase was brought up for discussion before the board during its meeting on Friday and was once again deferred till the next one.
With elections in Delhi soon, the BJP leaders on the board said the hike will have to wait.
Jal Board member and North Delhi Municipal Corporation Leader of the House Mira Aggarwal said: “We will not allow the proposal to go through till an elected government can deliberate on it.”
The water prices have been going up by 10 per cent on January 1 since 2009, when the then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit cleaning the provision for automatic escalation. However, Ms. Dikshit deferred the hike in 2013, a decision sources say was precipitated by the Assembly elections that year.
Meanwhile, the water utility has cleared a slew of projects to strengthen its network and services. Administrative approval for a Rs.41.77-crore plan was granted for rehabilitation of the sewer line from B-II Block of Madangir to Andrews Ganj Pumping Station.
The sewerage network in Inderpuri and adjoining areas will be improved with the construction of a peripheral sewer line from Dasghara village to Satya Park in Naraina industrial area at an estimated cost of Rs.13.16 crore. Water supply in Mangolpur Kalan will be strengthened with the laying of pipelines at a cost of Rs.3.26 crore.
