The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authorities has decided to raise the water tariff by 10 per cent to be made effective from July 1.
According to the media circular published on Wednesday, the price for residential users will increase to Tk16.70 per 1,000 litres from Tk 15.18, and for commercial connections, it will rise to Tk 46.20 per 1,000 litres from Tk 42.
The revised price will also be effective for unmetred holdings, deep tube wells, under-construction buildings, and all types of water and sewage charges, including minimum bills, the notice read.
The Dhaka WASA stated that the water price was raised under section 22 of the WASA Act 1996 to readjust inflation.聽
According to the section 22 (2) of the WASA Act 1996, the authorities can increase water tariffs by a maximum of 5 per cent each fiscal year upon the board鈥檚 approval in case of increase in operating expenses due to inflation.聽
Earlier, the agency raised the water prices by 5 per cent in July 2021.聽
In 2017, the price was at Tk 10 per unit for residential consumers and Tk 32 for commercial users, with consistent annual increase of 5 per cent since then for three consecutive years.
In 2020, prices for residential consumers were increased by 25 per cent to Tk 14.46 from Tk 11.57, following government approval.聽聽聽
When the DWASA tried to hike the prices again in 2022, the Consumer Association of Bangladesh filed a writ petition with the High Court challenging the validity of the decision.
The court, on March 16, 2023 in a verdict declared illegal the decision of water tariff hike without a law.
On March 29, 2023, the Appellate Division responding to a petition from the DWASA, stayed the High Court verdict until May 29, 2023, asking the authorities not to set new water tariff till the day.
Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua, who appeared for the CAB in the court, told 抖阴精品, 鈥楾he Dhaka WASA cannot legally increase water tariffs as the water tariff issue is still pending with the Appellate Division.鈥�