Is 700 litre water free for all?

A consumer who uses water in range of 20-30 kilo litre has to pay around Rs 803 inclusive of all charges

The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday kept its promise to the electorate and announced free water will be supplied to all Delhi households. However, this came with a few conditions. Business Standard takes a look at the pros and cons of the move.

WHO BENEFITS?

• All households with a “functioning water meter” can get up to 20,000 litres of free water a month from January 1, 2014

HOW MUCH WOULD A HOUSEHOLD HAVE TO PAY IF A LITRE OF WATER IS CONSUMED ABOVE THIS LIMIT?

• The entire usage will be charged if a household consumes a litre more than the free limit of 20 kilolitre (1 kilolitre is 1,000 litres) a month, “to encourage conservation”
• According to the latest slab of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), a consumer who uses 20-30 kilolitres has to pay Rs 803 now. There is an annual 10 per cent increase on the bill since 2010. Hence, each household will have to shell out Rs 884 from January 1 for 20-30 kilolitres. If a household consumes more than 30 kilolitres, the rates would go up further

WHO ARE THE LOSERS?

• Households without metered connections or with meters that are not working. According to DJB, there are 1.7 million homes with water meters in Delhi. Of these, 850,000 meters are functional. Hence, half the homes to which DJB supplies will not get free water
• Group housing societies, which are several, will be kept out of this benefit for now, as there are no individual water meter connections in such societies. According to the Delhi government website, there are 2,105 group housing and house building societies in Delhi. If one assumes 100 houses on each of the premises, on an average, 210,000 houses stand to lose