Raising water tariff in Bengaluru inevitable, says Karnataka Deputy CM

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said raising the water tariff in Bengaluru has become unavoidable as the water board is facing an annual loss of Rs 1,000 crore. He told reporters that he has directed officials to prepare a report on the proposed water tariff increase. "I have asked officials to submit a report on the water tariff hike, a decision will be taken soon. We are also taking steps to measure water consumption accurately," said the Deputy CM, after a meeting with the officials of the Bengaluru civic agencies at Cauvery Bhavan. He pointed out that the water tariff has not been increased since 2014, leading to an annual loss of Rs 1,000 crore for the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB). "The electricity bill for the Board has increased from Rs 35 crore to Rs 75 crore." "Water tariff hike has become inevitable. The officials of the BWSSB have had discussions with all the MLAs of the city. The Board is finding it difficult to raise funds as the banks are refusing to lend due to the losses," Shivakumar, who holds Bengaluru development portfolio, explained.

To a query on the quantum of the water tariff hike, he stated that no decision has been made yet, and it will be determined after thorough discussions. He emphasised that even the poor should contribute a token amount, such as one paise per liter, to help the Board accurately measure water usage. The Minister also recalled that the previous Congress government had allocated Rs 20 crore to provide water to slums and the urban poor, but the BJP government halted the initiative. However, Shivakumar assured that the government plans to revive the scheme for the urban poor, although water usage will be measured even if a token charge is applied. "The water supplied to slums is being misused in many places. We have formulated a plan to collect accurate information on water consumption across the city. The illegal connections must be regularised," he added. Regarding preparations for the summer, the Deputy Chief Minister said officials have been directed to take necessary steps to ensure that Bengaluru does not face any water shortage this summer. "We have instructed officials to expedite filling up tanks to charge ground water in the city." Shivakumar mentioned that the BWSSB has issued 15,000 new connections under Cauvery fifth stage and it is yet to issue an additional 20,000 connections.

Many apartment complexes are yet to take Cauvery water connection. All of them have been informed that it is mandatory to do so, he added.