Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (Dhaka WASA) will soon introduce a neighbourhood-wise tariff for customers, instead of the current system of providing subsidies for all subscribers.
LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam announced the major change in decades-old policy at a programme in Dhaka’s Press Institute Auditorium on Friday, reports bdnews24.com.
The Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives (LGRD) oversees the operation of Dhaka WASA, the state agency responsible for supplying running water in the city.
Questioning the ethics of providing the same subsidies to all Dhaka residents irrespective of their income levels, he said: “Why should someone living in Gulshan and Banani pay the same as someone who is living in a slum [in Dhaka] or Jatrabari?”.
The minister said every neighbourhood would have a different tariff rate for water consumption.
“No more subsidies. People living in Gulshan and Banani have to pay more compared to people living in other areas,” Tajul said.
He also emphasised that the authorities should follow the same policy to fix holding taxes and other utility charges like gas and electricity.
In an event last month, Dhaka WASA proposed resetting its tariffs such that low-income people can get water at a much lower rate than the wealthier, by splitting Dhaka city into 10 zones.
Each zone will have a separate tariff cap.
At present, every household pays Tk 15.18 for every 1,000 litres of water.
According to the data presented at the event, WASA spends Tk 25-26 for producing every 1,000 litres of water.
In its proposal, Dhaka WASA wants to charge Tk 37.50 for every 1,000 litres of water for households in wealthy neighbourhoods, Tk 31.25 for those in upper-middle-class areas and Tk 25 in middle-class neighbourhoods.
For lower middle-class areas, the tariff would be Tk 18.75 per 1,000 litres. The low-income people would pay Tk 12.5.
