After 10 yrs, BWSSB hikes tariff by 19 per cent

Bengaluru: After nearly a decade, the BWSSB has increased water and sanitary charges by 19%. The board on Sunday stated that the tariff for the domestic consumption slab of 1,000-8,000 kilolitres has been increased from Rs 48 to Rs 56. For 8,000-25,000 KL slab, the tariff has gone up by Rs 2 per kilolitre.

The board claimed that before the revision, it incurred monthly expenses of Rs 82 crore, while earning Rs 50 crore.

While the recent fall in petrol and diesel prices may have brought some cheer to the customers, the BWSSB has decided to play spoilsport by increasing the water tariff for both domestic and non-domestic consumers, citing heavy losses.

Henceforth, domestic consumers who fall within 8,000-25,000 litre slab will have to pay Rs 11 for every kilolitre, instead of the existing Rs 9. Those falling within 25,000-50,000 litre slab will have to pay Rs 26 from the present Rs 15.

For those who consume over 50,000 litres a month, the charges will increase by over Rs 10 per kilolitre. The hike will be applicable to all types of consumers.

The water supply charges for non-domestic consumers have gone up by 25 per cent and those using less than 10,000 litres will have to pay Rs 50 per kilolitre. The minimum tariff has been increased to Rs 500 from the existing Rs 360.

The BWSSB has raised the next slab to 25,000 litres from previous 20,000. The charges for this slab have gone up to Rs 57 per kilolitre from the present Rs 39.

There has been a steep increase in the tariff for consumers using up to 100 kiloliters and above. Bulk users such as industries, swimming pool, airports and apartment complexes too will end up paying more.

Currently these consumers were paying Rs 60 per kilolitre, and with revised rates they will be paying Rs 90. The residents of apartment complexes will pay Rs 22 per kilolitre instead of the present Rs 19.

The sanitary charges have shot up by 100% for domestic consumers, while non-domestic consumers will pay Rs 500 instead of Rs 300. Domestic consumers will now have to pay Rs 100 instead of Rs 50.

Justifying the increase in tariff, the Board said in the last 9 years, the total expenditure had increased from Rs 386.75 crore to Rs 1,222 crore, whereas the total income had increased from Rs 385 crore to Rs 759 crore. “This resulted in heavy losses to the Board,” the BWSSB said. The new rates will be effective from the present billing month.