The Noida Federation of Apartment Owners Associations (NOFAA) has written to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Noida Authority Ritu Maheshwari raising the issue of a hike in water tariff and reasoned that it was not needed as there was no changes in consumption patterns.
The NOFAA stated that the pandemic has been extremely challenging for everyone. They said that the residents are already facing many problems like salary cuts, losses in business, increased expenditure on health care, mental health and many more. Amid all this, the rise in water tariff in the current fiscal has added to the miseries of residents.
Rajiva Singh, President of NOFAA said, “The pandemic has been extremely harsh on residents on multiple fronts. A hike in water tariff has increased the woes. We requested the authority to defer the hike to next fiscal.”
“The worst part is that the supply is erratic in last 3-4 months. The Ganga water pipeline is under maintenance for many reasons including the cleaning at Haridwar. This increase in water tariff was not needed,” said Nisha Rai, Secretary of NOFAA.
“There has been an increase of 160 per cent in the water bill as compared to last year. There was no explanation given by the administration. This has happened without installation of water meters at many places. There was also no changes in the water supply lines. At the same time, irregular supply of water and high TDS levels are bothering residents,” said Puneet Sharma, President of Aditya Celebrity Homes in Sector 76.
“The hike in water tariff during the pandemic time is not really justified. The residents have already been struggling with jobs and business losses. They are incurring health care costs,” said Prof Rajesh Sahay, Secretary General of NOFAA.
It was stated in the letter that with no change in water consumption patterns in the last one year in societies, the sudden hike in tariff may be unwarranted. Few societies have even reported a 100 per cent rise in these charges which is actually a very serious concern.
