Denizens will have to shell out more money for water in the capital from New Year with the city government today announcing new tariff for the precious commodity besides deciding to charge for the first 6,000 litres per month which were earlier given free.
According to the new tariff, a household will have to pay Rs2 per kilo litre (1,000 litre) for the first 10kl and Rs3 in the 10-20kl litre slab.
Similarly, the tariff for 20-30kl slab is Rs15 per kl while those for every kilo litre above 30kkl will cost Rs25.
Earlier, the government was not charging money for consumption of water till 6,000 litres but is now chargeable in the new tariff regime.
The tariff for industrial use has also been increased.
Industries will have to pay Rs10 per kl for the first 10kl while in the 10-25kl slab, one has to pay Rs20 per kl.
In the 25-50kl slab, 1kl will cost Rs50 while consumption of every kilo litre above 50 and below 100kl will cost Rs80. Above 100kl, the rate is Rs100.
"The new tariff will come into existence from January one next year," Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit told reporters here.
She said the increase was meant to make people understand that water is precious. "This will fetch Rs300 crore for the Delhi Jal Board," she said. Dikshit said the hike in tariff will help the Delhi Jal Board modernise its distribution network.
"The DJB wants resources and this will help them to modernise its distribution network," she said. The hike in water tariff comes a month after fares for bus and Delhi Metro were increased. A DJB official claimed that the proposed hike is still less than water tariff being charged in many other states.
The DJB has been pressing for hike in water charges for quite some time to meet its ever increasing operational cost. Sources said the DJB had wanted a hike from Rs2 to Rs3 for per kl of water for usage in the range of 7kl to 20kl. For usages between 21kl to 30kl, they proposed a hike from Rs7 to Rs14 per kl while a three fold increase was sought per kilo litre for usage beyond 30kl. Currently, DJB charges Rs10 per kl for usage above 30kl.
