Water use beyond 20,000 litres to cost 20% more in Delhi

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on Tuesday announced a 20 per cent increase in combined water and sewer tariff in the city for those consuming water beyond 20,000 litres per month.

Jal Board Vice Chairman Dinesh Mohaniya told a press conference that the 135th board meeting on Tuesday decided this "marginal" combined water-sewer price hike, which would come into force from February 1.

"This decision has been taken keeping in view the expenditure incurred due to implementation of Seventh Pay Commission and GST (Goods & Services Tax)," he said.

He further said that in the past, the DJB had been following the practice of hiking water charges by 10 per cent every year.

"The last such hike was in January 2015. There was no hike in 2016 and 2017. "This hike is for the year 2018 -- only hike in the past three years (2016, 2017 and 2018)," he noted.

Explaining the new water rates, Mohaniya said: "Consuming 23,000 litres of water per month earlier cost Rs 465.55 per month, but it will now become Rs 514.79 per month.

"Similarly, for consumption of 25,000 litres of water, the bill now will be Rs 599.14, instead of Rs 535.86 earlier," he explained.

--IANS

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