'Nominal charges for water supply under Jal Jeevan Mission'

Piped water supply for rural households, under the Union Government's Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), will not be free of cost for consumers in the state.

Karnataka Rural Drinking Water Supply & Sanitation Commissioner Vishal R on Saturday stated that all water connections would be metered, and tariff is proposed to be around one paisa per litre of drinking water. It is being planned to charge Rs 5 for 7,000 litres of litre per household per month, in first slab of incremental bulk tariff. The tariff is likely to be notified in two months.

Charges for water supply under the JJM being implemented in the state would be nominal, and respective Gram Panchayats would use the charges collected, for the maintenance of the water supply system.

More than 20 lakh connections would be given under the JJM in the state this year, and there would also be categories like residential and commercial connections. The objective is to supply 55 litres of pure water to each person per day. The project implementation has to be completed in 2024, he said.

Belagavi, Chamarajnagar and Mysuru are among the districts where the project implementation is going on in full speed, Dr Vishal informed.

Efforts are also being made in association with other departments to ensure proper waste treatment at religious places like Kollur, Savadatti, Kateel and Ganagapur, he added.