3 days ago
MCG plans 20% hike in water tariff to bridge revenue gap, seeks uniform billing
Gurgaon: Metered water supply rates for residential plotted areas may go up by 20%, while unmetered water connections may see a 50% hike if an MCG proposal submitted to urban local bodies (ULB) department goes through.
The corporation's proposal stems from the substantial difference between the amount MCG pays to GMDA for bulk water supply and the charges collected from residents for water services.
MCG chief engineer Vijay Dhaka says the steep hike of rates for the unmetered connections "is to encourage people to have metered water connections" — hence the proposal to increase the water and sewerage charges by 20% for the metered connections in the residential areas and 50% for the unmetered connections".
MCG suggests implementing uniform rates citywide by adopting the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) notice of Jan 12, 2018, with slight modifications to reduce the revenue-expenditure gap.
MCG currently follows two different charging mechanisms: one for areas transferred from HSVP builder areas and another for old Gurgaon and villages. In HSVP sectors, certain private developers have established townships and colonies.
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These private builders were responsible for maintaining and operating water supply and sewerage services. It is mentioned in the MCG's proposal that GMDA supplied bulk water to these colonies at a rate of Rs 10 per kilolitre, in accordance with govt policy.
Following this, five colonies, namely Palam Vihar, Suncity, Sushant Lok-1, South City-1 and South City-2, were transferred to MCG in 2019.
Currently, MCG collects user charges for water supply and sewerage services in both HSVP sectors and these townships, based on Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) notification dated Jan 12, 2018.
For residential plotted colonies, water charges are Rs 2.5 per KL for initial 10 KL usage, followed by Rs 5 per KL for subsequent 10 KL as per this notification.
Rural areas pay Rs 2 per kilolitre for water and sewerage services, as per PHED notification of April 3, 2017. This rate is double what MCG charges from old Gurgaon and incorporated villages, based on ULB department rates from March 9, 2011 notification.
The corporation has identified rate inconsistencies between the two notifications that determine charges across different city areas under MCG jurisdiction.
This variation in revenue collection could potentially cause legal issues, the civic body has noted in its proposal.
The MCG's submission to ULB department indicates that it receives approximately 80 lakh kilolitres of drinking water monthly through 148 bulk connections at Rs 10 per kilolitre, distributing to old town, villages, HSVP sectors and private builder areas. The corporation pays about Rs 10 crore monthly to GMDA for bulk supply and sewerage maintenance, plus additional maintenance and leakage costs.
However, monthly revenue collection remains at Rs 5 crore, creating financial strain.
The corporation suggests increasing institutional metered connection charges from Rs 10 per KL to Rs 12 per KL and industrial and commercial metered connection charges from Rs 15 per KL to Rs 18 per KL.
Chaitali Mandhotra, a resident of Ardee City, said, "Water and sewerage charges are a complete mess in Ardee City. There are people who have not installed metres and they are getting bills amounting to a flat rate of Rs 550 plus taxes."
"Then, people are getting bills for the metered connection as per the HUDA notification. Moreover, there is a third category of people like me, who have already installed a water meter. However, I am still getting a flat bill like those with unmetered water connections. Moreover, in our colony, a majority of the houses are ground-plus-two floors. In these residential buildings, some units are getting one bill only for all three floors.
However, some are getting three separate bills. So, this billing system needs to be regulated."
