Urban residents in Bihar to pay for tap water

For individual use, each household have to pay the monthly charge in the range ₹40 to ₹150 per month. Private houses have been exempted from paying the one-time fixed charge, while commercial and other premises will pay a one-time charge in the range of ₹2,400 to ₹12,000.

Taking cue from the panchayati raj department’s experiment to charge for water to cover the running expenses of the water supply scheme in Bihar, the state’s urban development department (UDD) has also stipulated user charge for the tap water supplied to individual houses, commercial firms, government institutes and industrial installations, the proposal for which was approved by the state cabinet on Tuesday.

This is for the first time that people will be paying for water being supplied from the installations raised in urban areas under the har ghar nal ka jal (tap water supply to each house) scheme (Representative image)

This is for the first time that people will be paying for water being supplied from the installations raised in urban areas under the har ghar nal ka jal (tap water supply to each house) scheme.

According to draft proposal of the UDD, approved by the cabinet on Tuesday, the user charge has been fixed in accordance with the property tax of the premises and nature of consumption.

For individual use, each household have to pay the monthly charge in the range ₹40 to ₹150 per month. Private houses have been exempted from paying the one-time fixed charge, while commercial and other premises will pay a one-time charge in the range of ₹2,400 to ₹12,000.

Sanjay Kumar, additional chief secretary, cabinet secretariat department, said those having their own independent water supply system would not be required to pay water tax. “Only such houses and installations require paying it, which get the supply from har ghar nal ka jal scheme. The user charge has been mooted to manage the running expenses of the water supply system installed by the government,” Kumar said.

A senior officer of the UDD said that barring individual houses, all other installations connected with the water supply system are required to pay the one-time tax, which would mainly be raising the infrastructure for water supply. “The one-time charge is non-refundable. User charge for commercial and other premises increases if the consumption is higher,” said the officer, adding that the water tariff would be enforced once it was notified in the state gazette.

A few months ago, panchayati raj department has also notified user charge for water consumption in rural areas. As per the tariff finalised for rural areas, each household getting the tap water supply are required to pay monthly charge of ₹30.

Headline: Tap tax

Intro: The water usage charge will be levied only on people getting supply under state’s har ghar nal ka jal scheme

Property tax Tariff (monthly)

Range (annual in ₹) Individual Commercial Non-govt premises

0-1,000 40 7.50-12/KL 2.50/KL

1001-2000 65 9.50-18/KL 3.50/KL

2001-3000 120 12-24/KL 5/KL

3001 and above 150 14.50-18/KL 6/KL

Industrial user charge

Usage small scale industries others

Up to 50KL 12/KL --

50-75KL 18/KL --

75-100KL 24/KL 18/KL

100-150KL -- 24/KL

150kl and above -- 36/KL