Staff Reporter :
The water tariff in the capital and Narayanganj is to go up by 5 percent from 1 July this year.
Though there is a provision for increasing tariff once a year, it was increased in two phases by WASA in July and November last year.
At present, per unit of water (1000 liters) costs residential users Tk 10. It will be Tk 11.2 per unit after the increase. On the other hand, commercial users have to pay Tk. 35.28 instead of Tk. 33.60 per unit.
In 2009, the tariff per unit of water was Tk 5.75. It was increased more than twice every year with the special approval of the ministry. 17 percent increased in November 2016 alone.
Like many others, Kawser Alam, a resident of capital’s Gopibagh area, said WASA should improve the quality of water before increasing the tariff. We cannot have bath properly as the WASA water is stinky, he complained.
Chief Commercial Manager of Dhaka WASA Uttam Kumar Roy said decision has been taken in the board meeting to increase the tariff of water from July. According to WASA Act 1996, WASA Board can increase water tariff by 5 percent every year. As the water production and management costs have increased, WASA is forced to raise the tariff once again. He said at present the cost of production of 1 liter water is Tk 17. In order to coordinate production and revenue, the tariff needs to be increased more than once this year.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) president and former chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) Golam Rahman said, “We think one of the main reasons for the rise of water tariff by WASA is its corruption and mismanagement. If the thieves are caught, there will be no need of frequent increasing of tariff. A neutral and independent agency should be responsible for determining the tariff of water through public hearing.”
