Chandigarh: Haryana government on Thursday hiked
rates for drinking water, water for bulk industrial use and
for supply to other states.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet
which met here under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister
Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
As per the approved proposal, a 20 per cent hike has been
made in supply of water for brick-making and pisewall building
and water for construction work by raising the existing rate
of Rs 500 to Rs 600 per 2500 cubic feet, according to an
official release here.
A 20 per cent hike has also been made in the rate of water
supply in bulk industries, power plants and other bulk users
by raising it from Rs 250 to Rs 300 per 2500 cubic feet.
A 20 per cent hike has also been made in supply of water
for drinking purpose by raising it from Rs 10 to Rs 12 per
2500 cubic feet.
It was decided that for water supplied to other states,
over and above their share, the hike in the rates would be
actual cost incurred and the new rate would Rs 40 instead of
Rs 10 per 2500 cubic feet at present.
The cabinet also decided 10 per cent annual interest would
be levied if the due payment is not made within six months.
"The decision to hike water rate has been taken in view of
the cost incurred by the state Irrigation Department for
supply of this water," the release said. In another decision, the Cabinet gave its ex-post-facto
approval to the constitution of Mitti Kala Board seeking to
revive and promote the heritage, hand-crafted earthenware,
pottery and other clay-based artifacts and lay down general
guidelines for augmenting the income of traditional artisans
through various initiatives in production of conventional
items.
The cabinet also gave its ex-post-facto approval to the
Haryana State Litigation Policy 2010, prepared on the basis
of National Litigation Policy-2010.
The objective of the policy is to transform government
into an efficient and responsible litigant so that it manages
and conducts litigation in a collusive, coordinated and time
bound manner. It would also ensure that good cases are won and
bad cases are not pursued needlessly.
It would also reduce overall government litigation load in
courts.
Hooda later told reporters that 3500 cases were pending
before the Supreme Court while a large number of cases before
Punjab and Haryana High Court here.
PTI
