Cost of production: Rise in water tariff draws flak from industrialists
High business cost forces businesses to shift units from Karachi.
KARACHI:
SITE Association of Industry Chairman Muhammad Jawed Bilwani has opposed the increase in water tariff for industrial consumers from Rs187 to Rs204 per thousand gallons, saying the step has been taken without consulting the stakeholders.
“This sudden increase of 9% in the water tariff is another heavy blow to the industries in Karachi,” said Bilwani, according to a press release issued here on Wednesday.
According to him, already the tariff had been increased by 9% in January this year to Rs187 per thousand gallons. Now after just eight months, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has raised the tariff to Rs204.
Earlier in a letter, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah had advised the KWSB to take the input of stakeholders and industrialists before pushing up the tariff.
In view of the high water tariff, Bilwani said, the cost of doing business was rising, forcing the industrialists to shift their units from Karachi. “This will cause mass unemployment, leading to chaos and worsening of law and order situation in the city.”
He pointed out that prices of gas, electricity, petrol and diesel were uniform in all provinces. For instance, prices of petrol and diesel, which are transported from Sindh to other provinces, remain the same across the country.
However, he said, there was discrimination in the price of water with Punjab paying Rs53; Balochistan paying Rs52 while in Karachi the tariff stood at Rs204, which was 285% higher.
In Hyderabad, the water price is Rs25, which is 716% lower than that in Karachi. In Kotri, the rate is Rs33 and in Nooriabad it is Rs65.
According to him, records show that water supply charges for the KWSB from Keenjhar Lake through Wapda are merely Rs0.75 per thousand gallons while the tariff for industrial consumers is Rs204.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2014.
SITE Association of Industry Chairman Muhammad Jawed Bilwani has opposed the increase in water tariff for industrial consumers from Rs187 to Rs204 per thousand gallons, saying the step has been taken without consulting the stakeholders.
“This sudden increase of 9% in the water tariff is another heavy blow to the industries in Karachi,” said Bilwani, according to a press release issued here on Wednesday.
According to him, already the tariff had been increased by 9% in January this year to Rs187 per thousand gallons. Now after just eight months, the Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) has raised the tariff to Rs204.
Earlier in a letter, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah had advised the KWSB to take the input of stakeholders and industrialists before pushing up the tariff.
In view of the high water tariff, Bilwani said, the cost of doing business was rising, forcing the industrialists to shift their units from Karachi. “This will cause mass unemployment, leading to chaos and worsening of law and order situation in the city.”
He pointed out that prices of gas, electricity, petrol and diesel were uniform in all provinces. For instance, prices of petrol and diesel, which are transported from Sindh to other provinces, remain the same across the country.
However, he said, there was discrimination in the price of water with Punjab paying Rs53; Balochistan paying Rs52 while in Karachi the tariff stood at Rs204, which was 285% higher.
In Hyderabad, the water price is Rs25, which is 716% lower than that in Karachi. In Kotri, the rate is Rs33 and in Nooriabad it is Rs65.
According to him, records show that water supply charges for the KWSB from Keenjhar Lake through Wapda are merely Rs0.75 per thousand gallons while the tariff for industrial consumers is Rs204.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2014.