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Thane residents may haveto pay 50% more water tax
Residents will have to pay 50% more for water if the proposal of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) is approved. The water tax hike will affect commercial, residential
Residents will have to pay 50% more for water if the proposal of Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) is approved. The water tax hike will affect commercial, residential and slum areas.
To tide over losses, the water department of TMC has proposed over 50% increase in water tax and will table the proposal in the general body meeting on February 20. TMC said it is facing losses of ₹60 crore to ₹80 crore annually in the past five years.
An official from TMC said, “Water tax was increased for commercial consumers in 2012 and for residential consumers, it was hiked in 2015. The rates have not been revised after this. As per the government’s directives, water supply should be on no-profit no-loss basis. For the past few years we are facing losses in crores because of more than 20% distribution losses.”
TMC receives 480 million litres per day (mld) water and 20% of it is lost during distribution. Around 384 mld of water is supplied to a population of 24 lakhs. Registered residential consumers in Thane are 1.30 lakh while commercial consumers are 4,700.
The official said, “In 2018-19, water expense was ₹202.92 crore while the revenue generated from water bills was merely ₹126 crore. We had to bear losses of ₹76.92 crore. If we calculate the water expenses as per the government rule of no-loss no-profit, the ₹7.50 cost per 1000 litre will be increased to ₹13. Housing complexes, which pay water tax on flat rate basis, will have to shell out ₹300 instead of ₹200 for flat area of 250 square feet.”
The 50% increase is for all flats irrespective of size. The slum areas will have to pay ₹200 per family instead of the current ₹130 per family. TMC said the hike will fill the gap between revenue and expenses and the distribution network can be improved. The hike in water tax will be included in the budget estimate too, said civic officials.
Residents said TMC should first focus on plugging leakages.
Yogesh Patil, a resident of Kalwa, said, “No action has been taken against illegal water connections and tax defaulters for the past many years. Only those taxpayers, who regularly pay taxes, have to bear the burden.”
Although TMC has proposed an increase in water tax, it has decided to reduce the interest rates for tax defaulters. As per the proposal tabled in the general body, TMC will reduce interest rate by 50% if defaulters pay tax by February 29. The official said, “Those who pay by March 31 will get 40% discount on interest or fine amount. Defaulters will have to clear the entire due to avail this. This is to encourage people to pay taxes so that water supply is not disconnected.”
