State Government Hikes Water Tariff For Industrial Use by Nearly 100 Times

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Industries in Karnataka will have to pay nearly 100 times more for water that they draw from reservoirs, canals, lakes and dams for industrial purposes. The Karnataka government has hiked the tariff from INR 3,200 to INR 3 lakh for every million cubic feet (MCft). The tariff of water drawn from rivers has increase by more than 80 times – from INR 1,800 per MCft to INR 1.5 lakh.
Terming the hike as unsustainable, the industrialists have expressed fears that this might affect their business margin and hurt consumers. Industry representatives are scheduled to meet Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy on 27 July 2018.
Bengaluru Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) President Kishore Alva said that this could be among the last decisions of the previous government and thus the chief minister may not be aware of this move. Alva added that the industry representatives would apprise Kumaraswamy about their concerns and request him to roll back the hike. Out of 52,545 companies in the state, more than 70% use water from natural resources.
The industrialists say that the government did not consult them before hiking the tariff. According to Alva, power, iron and steel sectors would be the most burdened by the hike. Industry representatives say that the sector has spent crores of rupees on setting up infrastructure to draw water, thus such industries should be charged less.

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