Delhi Jal Board, the city’s water authority, on Tuesday approved a 20% increase in tariffs on water and sewer consumption in the city for households that consume more than 20,000 litres of water a month.
Households that consume less than 20,000 litres a month will continue to pay no charges, Delhi government spokesperson Nagendar Sharma said on Twitter.
The new tariff structure will come into effect from February. In 2016, Delhi’s Aam Aadmi Party government had put on hold the annual 10% hike in tariffs – a departure from a practice first put in place by the Sheila Dikshit government in 2009 and followed by the AAP government itself in 2015.
Keeping water free for consumption lower than 20,000 litres a month was a key promise the AAP made when it contested elections in 2015. Households consuming between 20,000 and 30,000 litres a month pay Rs 21.97 per 1,000 litres along with a service charge of Rs 219.62. Those who use more than 30,000 litres a month pay Rs 36.61 per 1,000 litres apart from a service charge of Rs 292.82.
The increase in tariff will effectively lead to a rise of Rs 28 per month in charges paid by consumers who cross the 20,000-litres-a-month limit, Delhi Jal Board Vice Chairman Dinesh Mohaniya, who is also an Aam Aadmi Party MLA, told PTI.
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