Thursday, Dec 23, 2004
Thursday, Dec 23, 2004 |
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Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Obituary | New Delhi
By Our Staff Reporter
NEW DELHI, DEC. 22. The sharp increase in water tariff in the Capital since the beginning of this month is the first step towards privatisation of Delhi Jal Board, the senior Bharatiya Janata Party, Madan Lal Khurana, said here today. Threatening to "expose" the Delhi Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, at a press conference, Mr. Khurana said he would come out with details of the planned sell-out of the water utility to a multinational company if she did not reply to his questions within 24 hours. "Tomorrow I would name the company to which Ms. Dikshit has decided to hand over the DJB. I have all the official documents with me," he said. Describing the latest increase in water tariff as unjustified, he demanded that Ms. Dikshit explain why the people were being burdened. "Whereas the DJB requires Rs. 344 crores to meet its annual expenses, the increase in water tariff would fetch the water utility Rs. 3,245.20 crores," he said. Asking for whom such a huge revenue was being collected, he alleged that this was to "ensure profit" to the multinational company to which the DJB was to be sold. "This is nothing but an open loot of people's money," he alleged. "What is the DJB going to do with such a huge profit every year?" Mr. Khurana claimed that under the new tariff structure the DJB would collect Rs. 400 crore per year without supplying water. "It is based on the fixed charges, which the new tariff structure has imposed," he said. Referring to the water rates being charged from residents of slum clusters and also from religious institutions, he charged the Congress-ruled Delhi Government with being anti-poor and anti-religious. Countering the Delhi Government's argument for increasing the water tariff, Mr. Khurana claimed that under the new Unit Area System, the house tax of DJB has reduced from Rs. 25 crores to just Rs. 4.33 crores. "There is no justified reason for increasing water tariff, except that this would help the private company, which would take over reins of the DJB to earn a huge profit," he alleged. Mr. Khurana alleged that instead of concentrating on better management of water and its resources, the DJB had increased its rates from 5 to 10 per cent.
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