Amid a severe water shortage currently affecting the state, the Karnataka government may consider increasing the water tariff in Bengaluru, suggested DK Shivakumar, the Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Bengaluru Development Minister.
Shivakumar suggested that the monthly water charges for users might be raised, citing financial losses incurred by the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB).
Shivkumar said, “The water tariff has not been increased in Bengaluru in the last 10 years. There has been a great loss. We have to take on new projects. No bank is coming forward to finance the BWSSB. Every year we suffer a big loss. The financing companies are saying that we are only politicizing the issues but not trying to at least break the company. I have asked the officials to examine the issue. We will put the facts in the public domain and then we will take the decision.”
Shortly after Shivakumar remarked on the water crisis, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a comprehensive assault on the Congress party, asserting that their pre-election pledges of freebies and subsidies are now backfiring.
Referring to the Congress administration in Karnataka as a “Khata Khat loot model”, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla criticized the party, stating, “First electricity, milk & petrol diesel now water tariff to be hiked in Karnataka by Looteri Congress.”
He added, “Congress has looted the state treasury so now it is imposing Rahul Jizya tax instead of paying Rs 1 lakh to women it is robbing the farmers, middle class & common man – it’s called Khata Khat loot model.”
Last year, the Congress government increased the electricity tariffs in the state. In June 2023, energy costs and power tariffs in Karnataka were raised by Rs 2.89 per unit, meaning citizens had to pay an extra Rs 2.89 per unit if their power consumption exceeded the 200-unit threshold.
In 2023, the BBMP proposed an approximate 10 percent increase in water tariffs for residential buildings and a 15 percent hike for commercial establishments. This proposal follows the Karnataka government’s recent decision to raise fuel charges by Rs 3.
