Bengal plans to introduce water tax

Kolkata: West Bengal plans to introduce water tax during the current year in a bid to reduce wastage of water.

The State Government will adopt Britain’s model in levying water tax, where water meters are placed in households to measure water consumption.

“The year 2007 has been earmarked as Water Year. We plan to introduce water tax during the current year. This will help us in better management of the resource,” Mr Nandagopal Bhattacharjee, Minister for Water Resources Investigation and Development Department, told Business Line on the sidelines of a State-level workshop on ‘Crisis of Water Resources and its Management.’

Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhi, Governor, also favoured the introduction of water tax.

“Nearly 80 per cent of the water consumed by urban consumers is reproduced as wastewater, while in case of rural consumers it is exactly the opposite. In such a scenario, there is a need to introduce some kind of economic cost to reduce the wastage.”

The State Government will spend Rs 26 lakh during the current year to create awareness about the importance of water and its proper management.

“We are planning various awareness campaigns, including ads in print and electronic media, organising State- and district-level workshops and training programmes,” Mr Bhattacharjee said.

The Government is also open to the idea of private participation in various water conservation projects across the State.

“Demand for water in the coming years will be difficult to meet if we do not manage this resource properly.

“More emphasis should be given on rainwater harvesting and the private sector can also contribute immensely in this regard,” said Mr Subhas Naskar, Minister for Irrigation and Waterways Department.