Made applicable from April 1, the hike was announced by Noida Authority on April 4, after a hiatus of five years.
Retaliating against Noida Authority’s 25 per cent hike in water tariff, Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Association (NOFAA) started an online petition last night.
Made applicable from April 1, the hike was announced on April 4, after a hiatus of five years.
The 25-per-cent hike is for residential, commercial, institutional and industrial areas, but for properties used by residents below poverty line — such as Shramik Kunj, EWS (economically weaker section) flats and villages — the hike has been pegged at 10 per cent.
Rajiva Singh, president of NOFAA, told City Spidey, “So far, more than 500 people have signed the petition — 97 per cent residents want no hike in water tariff. While a few are not averse to the hike given certain conditions are met by Noida Authority, such as improvement in the quality and quantity of supply among others.”
Residents can sign the online petition at www.bit.ly/nofaa-water-price-hike
Singh also said that if thousands of residents sign the petition, Noida Authority will realise the gravity of the situation and, perhaps, initiate a roll back.
“Five years back, on July 1 in 2013, Noida Authority had hiked drinking water rates by up to 75 per cent. Before that, it had revised the water tariff in 2003. The present hike made effective from 1st April, 2018 after such a short gap is not justified at all,” Singh said.
Among several reasons cited against the hike, poor quality of water supplied topped the list. Many said the water is not even suitable for bathing and washing — let alone drinking.
NOFAA members also alleged that TDS levels are quite high in the water supplied, frequently damaging home appliances. “The quantity of water being supplied is quite inadequate to meet the normal requirements of residents, and most of the times, the pressure is also low,” complained another member.
PR Chandana, secretary of the Mecon Apartments AOA, said, “It’s surprising that a modern city like Noida has not thought of installing water meters for individual households. The consumption of water varies from one household to another, depending on the number of users. How can there be same charges for everyone?”
