`No need to panic over water tariff'
The Hindu - Staff Correspondent
Corporation will take the final decision
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# French company entrusted with duty of maintaining pipeline
# There is no move to privatise water supply, says project director
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HUBLI: I.M. Prabhakar, deputy project director, Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation, has appealed to the residents of the twin cities not to panic over increase in water tariff in areas where the drinking water project is being implemented.
Addressing presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Prabhakar said that ultimately the urban local body and not the French company Companie Generale Desaux, would fix the water tariff under the project. The French company has been entrusted with the work of laying the pipeline. He said the French company will only be looking after the maintenance of the pipeline and will have no role to play even in bill collection.
The water supply project is being implemented in Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum and Gulbarga as a pilot project. There is no move to privatise water supply, he said. Although the funding for the project is by World Bank, the urban local body has to fix the water tariff, he added.
Mr. Prabhakar said a committee of the Commissioners of the urban local bodies, where the project is being implemented, had been formed. The Commissioner of Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation will be the chairman for the committee. It will take the final decision on fixing the water tariff.
In fact the committee will comprise of representatives of the residents, who would be the beneficiaries of the project. They too would be part of the process, he said.
Regarding the opposition of residents in Dharwad towards the project, he said apart from apprehensions among the general public regarding the water tariff, those from the economically weaker sections of the society have fear that they would be deprived of the facility of getting water from public taps.
There are few others who have been getting water supply for years through illegal water supply connections, which will not be possible under the project. Along with them are few vested interests. All these have led to the further confusion among the public, he said.
Mr. Prabhakar said that since the non-governmental agency Rural and Urban Development Association, hired to educate the people has failed to discharge its responsibility properly a notice had been issued to it.
He said steps were being taken to clarify the doubts among the general public.
The Hindu - Staff Correspondent
Corporation will take the final decision
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# French company entrusted with duty of maintaining pipeline
# There is no move to privatise water supply, says project director
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HUBLI: I.M. Prabhakar, deputy project director, Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation, has appealed to the residents of the twin cities not to panic over increase in water tariff in areas where the drinking water project is being implemented.
Addressing presspersons here on Friday, Mr. Prabhakar said that ultimately the urban local body and not the French company Companie Generale Desaux, would fix the water tariff under the project. The French company has been entrusted with the work of laying the pipeline. He said the French company will only be looking after the maintenance of the pipeline and will have no role to play even in bill collection.
The water supply project is being implemented in Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum and Gulbarga as a pilot project. There is no move to privatise water supply, he said. Although the funding for the project is by World Bank, the urban local body has to fix the water tariff, he added.
Mr. Prabhakar said a committee of the Commissioners of the urban local bodies, where the project is being implemented, had been formed. The Commissioner of Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation will be the chairman for the committee. It will take the final decision on fixing the water tariff.
In fact the committee will comprise of representatives of the residents, who would be the beneficiaries of the project. They too would be part of the process, he said.
Regarding the opposition of residents in Dharwad towards the project, he said apart from apprehensions among the general public regarding the water tariff, those from the economically weaker sections of the society have fear that they would be deprived of the facility of getting water from public taps.
There are few others who have been getting water supply for years through illegal water supply connections, which will not be possible under the project. Along with them are few vested interests. All these have led to the further confusion among the public, he said.
Mr. Prabhakar said that since the non-governmental agency Rural and Urban Development Association, hired to educate the people has failed to discharge its responsibility properly a notice had been issued to it.
He said steps were being taken to clarify the doubts among the general public.
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