After Fuel, Will Water Tariff Go Up In Bengaluru? Deputy CM Shivakumar Drops A Hint

Amid an ongoing acute water shortage in the state, the Karnataka government might raise the water tariff in Bengaluru, hinted Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister DK Shivakumar.

Hinting at the possibility of an increase in the monthly water charges for the users, Shivakumar claimed that the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is running under financial loss.

“The water tariff has not been increased in Bengaluru in the last 10 years. There has been a great loss. We have to take on new projects. No bank is coming forward to finance the BWSSB. Every year we suffer a big loss. The financing companies are saying that we are only politicising the issues but not trying to at least break the company. I have asked the officials to examine the issue. We will put the facts in the public domain and then we will take the decision,” said the Deputy Chief Minister.

According to the Deccan Herald, the BBMP had sought about a 10 per cent hike in the water tariff for residential buildings and 15 per cent for commercial establishments in 2023.

This comes just a few days after the Karnataka government decided to increase the fuel charges by Rs 3.

Last year, the Congress government also hiked the electricity tariffs in the state. The energy costs and power tariffs in Karnataka were hiked by Rs 2.89 per unit in June 2023, leaving citizens to shell out an additional Rs 2.89 per unit if their power usage exceeds the 200-unit slab.

Opposition Attacks Cong Over Possibility of Water Tariff Hike

Soon after Shivakumar’s statement on the water crisis, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders launched an all-out attack on the Congress party claiming that their pre-poll promises of freebies and subsidies in the state are now coming to bite them back.

Calling the Congress administration in Karnataka a “Khata Khat loot model”, BJP Spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said, “First electricity, milk & petrol diesel now water tariff to be hiked in Karnataka by Looteri Congress.”

“Congress has looted the state treasury so now it is imposing Rahul Jiziya tax Instead of paying Rs 1 lakh to women it is robbing the farmers, middle class & common man – it’s called Khata Khat loot model,” he added.