The hike proposed by the Mayor in water tariff from Rs. 60/- to Rs. 180/- per connection was predictably shot down in the Municipal Council of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC). The reasons for the out-of-hand rejection of the proposal have, however, not been reported. Hazarding a guess, one can think only of two possibilities. The reasons were either political or members' selfish interests.

The proposal emanated from the Mayor, who doesn't belong to the party in power in the Municipal Council. Anything that emanated from him, therefore, had to be rejected, regardless of its merits. That is one. The other possibility could be sheer fear of losing votes at the next municipal elections. Politicians are constantly plagued by a fear of shrinkage of their constituency if they support a measure that they perceive to be potentially unpopular. A hike in water tax would alienate their voters, who, they thought, would much rather prefer status quo.

Quite obviously, therefore, in the rejection of the proposal interests of the citizens did not figure anywhere. It was politics all the way, as it has been during the last few years. Readers might recall that Ms. Vibha Patel had hiked the water tax to Rs. 150/- per-connection during her mayoralty around 2004. She had been contemplating a further hike but couldn't somehow manage it. Soon thereafter, the new stop-gap chief minister reduced the tariff to Rs. 60/- per-connection. No reasons were ever given or sought. That it was technically unreasonable and that it would cause serious damage to the financial health of the Municipal Corporation seemed to be none of his concerns.

No wonder, while the costs of water supply went on escalating, the returns to the Municipal Corporation continued to stagnate. Currently, against the annual operational costs of Rs. 42 crore for supply of water the receipts are, reportedly, only Rs.12 crore - leaving a yawning gap of Rs. 30 crore, a situation untenable for any enterprise, leave alone a municipality rendering vital civic services.

The Municipal Council appears to be silent about the source from which it is going to get funds to bridge this substantial gap to make water supply to citizens a financially viable proposition. Clearly, its members have no clue. And, yet the utility needs to be self-reliant and needs investments for, inter alia, expansion of the supply-network for an expanding population, modern treatment of raw water to make the tap-water potable, meterisation of the supply to individual connections for a more scientific demand management and plugging leakages and preventing other avoidable wastages.

More importantly, the Corporation has to make investments on conservation of the Upper Lake which is a major source of water for it. Although it is the Lake's custodian, its perennial cash-crunch has prevented so far any outlay for the purpose. In the absence of any conservational measures the Lake, experts opine, could "die" in another 25 years. Since the responsibility for its sustainable use devolves on it alone, BMC has to wake up and discharge this important responsibility.

Improvement in water supply is one of the admissible components of Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Funds are made available under the Mission for the purpose provided the local bodies carry out "Mandatory reforms" like levy of "user charges" with a view to collecting "full cost of operation and maintenance". The Council's rejection of the step, howsoever tentative, taken in this direction, may render JNNURM funds unavailable.

There is no alternative to generating funds through levy of "user charges", with suitable dispensations for economically weaker sections. Status quo in water tariff would only harm the BMC and all its services, including water supply. It may ensure politicians their votes, but it will hit the citizens hard in the short and the long terms. Curiously, it is the people who are getting a raw deal in a democratic set-up.