Shimla, September 4: Despite claiming that water scarcity in Shimla had severely hit the tourism industry, hoteliers are against any move to enhance water tariff even as other commercial users, including educational institutions, are open to the proposed hike aimed at improving services and providing round-the-clock supply.
This has been indicated in the findings of the study “Evaluation of Poverty and Social Impact”, undertaken by Sutra Consulting Private Limited, to assess the public reaction on any hike in water tariff to provide regular supply and improve services in Greater Shimla.
The final report was submitted to the government on August 31.
The opinion of domestic and commercial consumers as well as stakeholders, including officials of the Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC), Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) and Shimla Jal Prabandhan Nigam Ltd, was taken. The localities of Summer Hill, Krishnanagar, Kasumpati and Boileauganj were covered and all income, age, gender and other criterion were taken into consideration.
In 2016, the government, following High Court directives, established the Greater Shimla Water Supply and Sewerage Circle (GSWSSC), which is an independent identity handling water supply to the state capital. There is almost 40 to 50 per cent loss in the revenue due to leakages, unauthorised connections and other inefficiencies as the water supply system to the erstwhile summer capital of the British is very old.
The findings of the survey indicate that the hoteliers are unwilling to pay more as they feel they are already paying higher tariff than other commercial users and are not receiving the required quantity of water. They lamented that owing to inadequate supply, they were compelled to rely on tankers for which they were spending more than Rs 5,000 per day.
They had agreed to pay the increased tariff only if they were also placed in the category of other commercial users with more than 110 litres of water per guest depending upon the number of rooms in the hotel, said an official. Though no decision on enhancing the tariff has been taken, there is a new volumetric tariff proposal under discussion, which proposes different rates for different slabs. Water tariffs are imposed on a flat rate basis for domestic customers per month, while commercial customers are fully metered and charged.
Source Tribune India
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