Ctg Wasa mulls big hike in water tariff
Says it needs to do so for ‘survival’
Just five months into its last tariff hike, Chattogram Water and Sanitation Authority (CWasa) is mulling to increase water tariff yet again by more than 60 percent, in an apparent bid to bridge the gap between production cost and existing price.
The utility service authority wants to raise the tariff for residential connections from Tk 9.92 to Tk 16, while non residential tariff would increase to Tk 45 from Tk 27.56 per unit of 1,000 litres.
A proposal to this end is set to be placed at a CWasa board meeting today.
Water tariff was last raised by five percent in March, before which the tariff for residential connections was Tk 9.45, while non-residential connections Tk 26.25 per unit.
When asked the reason behind the hike, Engr AKM Fajlullah, managing director of CWasa, told The Daily Star that it was for the sake of the organisation’s survival.
He said they needed to coordinate the production cost -- which is now Tk 16 per unit -- with the price.
“The government doesn’t give us any subsidy, and has asked us to be self-dependent. We have a huge amount of unpaid loans from various international lenders. Considering the situation, we have no option but to increase the tariff,” he added.
“The money we are spending must be recouped by raising water tariff. CWasa won’t survive unless we do it,” he added.
During a visit to CWasa on June 28, Local Government and Rural Development (LGRD) Minister Md Tajul Islam had said the organisation was running at a loss and was dependent on borrowing. He also urged CWasa to generate income.
MA Nazer Hossain, president of Chattogram chapter of Consumers’ Association of Bangladesh, told The Daily Star that CWasa could not provide them a satisfactory answer to how they assessed the production cost of water.
“They raised the tariff in March... this is in no way acceptable,” he said, adding that they have urged CWasa to reduce the system loss, “ghostly bills” and NRW (non-revenue water), so that consumers can be spared from the tariff hike. “They did not pay heed to our call. They always seek solution by increasing the tariff, which is absurd,” he said.