Mysuru corporation mulls over hike in water tariff

Corporator SBM Manju, who was elected as a representative to Mysuru Urban Development Authority, being greeted by Mayor Pushpalatha Jagannath and Deputy Mayor Shafi Ahmad, during the council meeting of the Mysuru City Corporation, on Thursday. MCC Commiss

A hike in water tariff, in the city, is on the cards, with a proposal being presented before the Council of the Mysuru City Corporation (MCC), in a meeting on Thursday.

The officials said that as the water charges have not been hiked since eight years, the burden of expenses for water supply on the MCC is increasing. The last hike was effected in the fiscal 2011-12.

The corporators objected to the proposal and said the hike should be put on hold as it would be a burden on the citizens. When they sought details, the officials were not fully prepared. Thus, a debate on the proposal was postponed for the next Council meeting.

The officials said that at present, the consumption of water in the city is 250 million litres per day (MLD), but the exact details of illegal connections were not available. The corporators said that the subject cannot be discussed unless data on illegal connections was available.

The consumers of water, under the MCC, are categorised as domestic, non-domestic, commercial, industrial and raw water producers. At present, the minimum charge for domestic consumers is Rs 125, which is proposed to be hiked to Rs 200 per month.

Similarly, for non-domestic consumers, the hike will be from Rs 140 to Rs 160, for commercial consumers from Rs 280 to Rs 320 and for raw water producers the minimum charges will be Rs 300.

Basic infrastructure

The Congress-JD(S) coalition corporators complained that they are afraid of facing the people in their respective wards due to the problems related to infrastructure. The complaint by the ruling corporators was ridiculed by the opposition BJP members.

Earlier, the BJP members had staged a protest, demanding street lights in their wards. They had complained that the officials of the Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation were not responding properly. They raised the issue again, during the council meeting. BJP rebel corporator Ma Vi Ramprasad was wearing a Mysuru turban, fixed with a light bulb, to speak about the street lights problem. However, he did not get a chance to speak.

Stray dogs

The issue of stray dogs menace dominated the council meeting. The corporators complained that the dog menace was on rampant. They are chasing and biting vehicle users. Veterinarian Dr Suresh Babu informed that since 2009, stray dogs are being sterilised. “In 2012, there were 27,000 stray dogs in the city. It increased to 44,000 in 2016. This year, a survey is being conducted to ascertain their numbers. So far, 41,432 dogs have been sterilised. In the year 2009, Rs 515 was spent per sterilisation, which has increased to Rs 750 now,” he said.

The corporators questioned, why is the sterilisation drive a failure, despite spending crores of rupees on the initiative.