On August 15, 2021, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant announced that the Government would give 16000 litres of free water to Goans from September 1. Well, all of Goa knew that it was an election gimmick and nothing else, as the Government would recover double of what it had given before the election if voted to power again.
Well, looking at my July Bill, one wonders what free is the Chief Minister talking about? Even before announcing the free water, the Public Works Department has hiked the tariff.
Earlier, the hidden charges were only applicable in the private sector, but the Sawant government has now taken a cue from them.
SURAJ NANDREKAR
Editor, Goemkarponn
So finally, the bubble has burst, the jumla of 16000 litres of free water of Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant has been exposed with the people instead of free water getting hefty bills.
On August 15, 2021, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant announced that the Government would give 16000 litres of free water to Goans from September 1. Well, all of Goa knew that it was an election gimmick and nothing else, as the Government would recover double of what it had given before the election if voted to power again.
Well, looking at my July Bill, one wonders what free is the Chief Minister talking about? Even before announcing the free water, the Public Works Department has hiked the tariff.
Earlier, the hidden charges were only applicable in the private sector, but the Sawant government has now taken a cue from them.
Never has any Goan seen 100 rupees meter inspection charges. This itself is a massive injustice to the taxpayers.
Sources say there are around 2.5 lakh water connections in the State, and the inspection charges would mean a revenue of Rs 2.5 cr to the State government.
Apart from this, the PWD is also charging Rs 55 as meter rent every month. The meter, installed by PWD, costs around Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000, and the consumer has to pay the amount for his entire life. At the rate of Rs 55, the meter charges are paid off in eight years, but the charges continue for life.
Meaning the water meter may work or not, the water may be supplied or not, the consumer still has to pay around 600 rupees every year to the department. What an injustice. Instead, why not the PWD ask the consumers to get their own rent or take charge on time while installation?
The Chief Minister announced that the Goans would get 16000 litres of free water, approximately around Rs 350 to 400 every month.
Secondly, why does the PWD not give the bill every month? Why wait for two to three months? What are the meter readers doing? If not, outsource the job to some private company that would do better than the uneducated PWD Minister.
Today, people in Ponda have exposed the Chief Minister’s jumla of 16000 litres of free water.
For around 200 units of water, the bills are around 5500 rupees. Are you kidding me, Mr CM?
After all this jumlas and cheating people with free water and spending lakhs of rupees on advertisements of this scheme, do you the people will be impressed? No, the move of increase in water tariff in the guise of free water will boomerang on the BJP government led by Pramod Sawant.
After a pandemic, every businessman, taxi owner, private sector employee suffers from a cut in salary or drop in business. Instead of providing support to the Goans, the Chief Minister and PWD Minister Deepak Pauskar thought of further hurting the people.
Imagine what would a person earning just Rs 10,000 per month do? How will he pay the bill of Rs 5000 to Rs 6000?
Now people have started talking they were better of without free water.
