Palakkad: The Kerala Water Authority is set to charge you more and limit the amount of free supply. The new water tarrifs would come into effect based on the proposal of the state Water Resources Department which has suggested a hike of 30 per cent.
It was also recommended to give 3,000 litres of water for free to all consumers. And to limit the free water supplied to the Below Poverty Line (BPL) consumers to 10,000 litres instead of the current 15,000 litres.
Those consumers, using more than 3,000 litres of water would be categorised into various slabs.
Currently, the water tax for 1 litre is 0.4 paise. When the rates are revised, those using more than 10,000 litres would have to give .5 paise per litre.
The Water Authority has categorically stated that it cannot function without increasing the water tax. The authority owes Rs 650 crore to the contractors, while Rs 2,000 crore has to be given to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). Of this, the government has agreed in-principle to give Rs 1,000 crore. Annually, Rs 400 crore has to be given to the KSEB.
Action has been initiated to generate solar power at the department-owned land to reduce power expenses. The Minister for Water Resources K Krishnan Kutty said that the first plant would be started on a 35-acre plot at Mungilmada in Palakkad with funds from various agencies.
As many as 126 mini drinking water projects started as per the requests of various MLAs at the constituencies are lying defunct. A whopping Rs 11,000 crore is needed to build reservoir and give connections.
