The Hindu : New Delhi News : Bidhuri warns against attempts to hike water tariff

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 15, 2006

New Delhi

New Delhi

Bidhuri warns against attempts to hike water tariff

Staff Reporter

"Its criminal to indulge in such an exercise"

NEW DELHI: Warning that any attempt by the Delhi Jal Board to raise water charges in the Capital would be opposed tooth and nail, Nationalist Congress Party MLA Ramvir Singh Bidhuri on Tuesday said it would be criminal to indulge in such an exercise when there was a public outcry against severe water shortage in the city.

In a statement, Mr. Bidhuri, who is also a member of the DJB, said it had been decided at the Board meetings held under the leadership of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit that till water was made available to the 140 million gallons a day Sonia Vihar water treatment plant, no tariff hike would be carried out. "It was only last year that a massive hike in water tariffs was effected by the Board. And now again there is talk of raising tariffs further by 15 per cent for various categories of consumers. The Board decides on such matters and not the Chief Executive Officer of the DJB,'' he added.

Mr. Bidhuri said DJB CEO Arun Mathur had no right to make such statements that water tariffs would be raised in the near future as this was a matter that did not fall under his purview.

First priority

Mr. Bidhuri said the first priority of the DJB and the Delhi Government should be to work out ways to tide over the present water crisis that has gripped the entire Capital.

Not only East and South Delhi, several other parts of the city were also faced with water shortage even before the summer has begun. Instead of augmenting the tankers' fleet and reworking the summer strategy, the DJB was floating proposals for a tariff hike, he said.

"If this matter comes up before the Board, we will not allow it to be passed. The consumer cannot be held responsible in any way for the inefficiency of the Government machinery. It is amazing that Mr. Mathur has made such statements without taking the legislative wing into confidence and that also at a time when the Delhi Assembly is in session,'' Mr. Bidhuri asserted.

Senior Congress MLA Bhisham Sharma said any attempt to raise water tariffs would be opposed by the party. "If the Government cannot provide water to the people, then it has no right to increase tariffs. We will take up the matter with the party high command if need be," he added.

Speaking in a similar tone, Poorvanchal leader and Congress legislator Mahabal Mishra said he strongly opposed any hike in water tariffs and added that it looked like a conspiracy by a handful of bureaucrats to pressurise a particular segment of the population to shift en masse out of the Capital by making things difficult for them.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail