Water tariff goes up almost two-fold Consumers must now pay Rs 150 a month for 10,000 litres of water

KATHMANDU, JUL 16 -
Come Tuesday, Kathmandu Valley denizens with water meters installed in their houses will have to pay almost double the bill they had been paying for water supplied by the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL).

While the earlier tariff was Rs 77.50 for 10,000 litres of water a month, people will now have to pay Rs 150 a month for the same volume. Households without the meters will be charged as much as Rs 835 for the same volume of water .

Issuing a public notice on Monday, the Water Tariff Fixation Commission (WTFC) gave a nod to the new water tariff proposed by the KUKL.

This is the second time since its establishment in 2008 that the KUKL, the sole public utility responsible for distribution and supply of drinking water in the Valley, has hiked the

water tariff. The WTFC has also asked the KUKL to work on institutional reforms and on improving its efficiency and transparency so that the entire drinking water supply and distribution scenario gets a boost.

The new rates come amid complaints from consumer groups that drinking water supplied in the Valley is inadequate and of poor quality.

While the KUKL has said the hike was a must to save the institution from going bankrupt, representatives of the Federation of Drinking Water and Sanitation Users’ Group have blamed inefficiency, poor institutional reforms and corruption for its poor performance.

“KUKL has done injustice to a majority of consumers in the city, given the poor performance and financial irregularities in the institution,” said Surendra Shakya, a resident from Mangal Bazaar in Lalitpur district.

“The commission’s decision has added a burden on the people who are already reeling under a severe water crisis,” he said. Shakya, who has a water meter installed in his house under the KUKL water supply service, is not getting water for more than a year now. “I have requested the KUKL to remove the meter so that I don’t need to pay for the water which I don’t get,” Shakya said.

According to consumers, despite the commission’s direction to the KUKL to improve the overall water supply situation, problems are likely to persist.

In 2009 too, the commission had asked the KUKL to maintain the quality of water , reduce leakage by 10 percent, collect dues, install meters in connections without them within six months and disconnect all illegal connections, and then finally adjust the tariff.

“However, the conditions set by the commission were never met,” said Prakash Amatya, a member of Fresh Water Action Network, an NGO.

KUKL spokesperson Milan Shakya said on Monday that the conditions put forth by the WTFC will be implemented effectively. According to him, the KUKL is already working to improve the infrastructure of its lab, install water treatment plants, replace old drinking water pipes.

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