The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi has pulled off the biggest U-turn so far. After promising the capital free water during the election campaign, the party has now hiked water tariff by 10%.
Ouch?
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia gave his nod to the proposal for the tariff hike with immediate effect even as BJP and Congress slammed the government’s decision, saying it was a “betrayal of the people”, Livemint reports.
Before you outrage though, there’s a catch in this 10% hike plan. The increase will effect only the families that consume more than 20,000 litres of water per month.
A good time to stop leaving your tap running while brushing every morning?
On 25 February, the AAP govt had announced 50% subsidy on monthly power consumption of up to 400 units and 20,000 litres of free water per month to all households.
“The government’s decision to increase water tariff by 10% is a stab on peoples’ back. No proposal has come for laying new water supply lines in any area but the Jal Board has come up with a proposal to buy 250 new tankers,” said Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay.
AAP is going back on all its promises, DPCC chief Ajay Maken said. “The 10% hike in the water tariff will affect lakhs of people in Delhi and would be beyond the paying capacity of the poor people.”
We completely agree with Ajay Maken. But two key questions come to mind.
What becomes of the 20,000 litres that were meant to be free in the first place?
No WiFi, plus water tariff hike. Are we looking at a possible electricity hike too?
