THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Water Resources Minister Roshy Augustine defended the water tariff hike by citing losses incurred by the Kerala Water Authority (KWA). According to him, the tariff hike was imperative for the survival of KWA. The KWA has a gross loss of Rs 4,911.42 crore. KWA owes Rs 2,567 crore to Kerala State Electricity Board, he told the assembly on Tuesday.
“We have increased just one paise for a litre of water. When we use more water, the charges will be more. It is high time we taught society about the prudent use of water,” said the minister during the adjournment motion. The minister requested the cooperation of the opposition to tide over the crisis. The KWA expects an additional revenue of Rs 400 crore with the new tariff hike.
Kovalam MLA M Vincent moved the adjournment motion against the water tariff hike. He blamed the government for putting more burden on people with the tariff hike as per the estimate given by the Asian Development Bank. According to him, 70 per cent of consumers will feel the burden. “The government is taking a cruel stance by denying the rights of poor people. The tariff hike should have been avoided considering the financial difficulties being faced by people after the pandemic,” said Vincent.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan blamed the government for ignoring the financial difficulties faced by common man. He also pointed out that the government has shown disrespect to the legislative assembly by not informing the house about the tariff hike. When the house is in session, the government should have informed the house first, but it chose to issue an order, he said. “People who used to pay Rs 44 for using 10 kilo litre of water have to cough up Rs 144 now. Those who were paying Rs 88 have to pay Rs 288. The average use is between 20 and 30 kilo litre. But the minister is trying to play down the tariff hike by saying that the increase was just one paise per litre,” said Satheesan
The minister pointed out that the government continues to offer water to BPL families free of cost up to 15,000 litres every month. The UDF government also raised water tariffs when it was imperative, during 2009 and 2014, he said. KWA incurs a loss of Rs 11.93 while distributing a kilo litre of water. The Opposition staged a walkout after the government denied the demand for a discussion on the topic.
FOLLOW CONVENTION, SPEAKER TELLS GOVT
Speaker A N Shamseer reminded the government to follow the convention of informing the House first about the policy decisions during a session. The reminder came after the government chose to issue an order on water tariff hike without informing the House in the ongoing session. He gave ruling on the point of order raised by Congress MLA A P Anilkumar. “Issuing order on water tariff hike could be an administrative action at the conclusion of official level steps. But it would have been a good example on the part of the government had it announced the decision, which affects all sections of people in the state, in the House itself. Hope the government takes note of the issue in the future,” said the Speaker.