Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) has revised water tariff effective from Thursday. 

The Drinking Water Tariff Fixation Commission on Wednesday issued a public notice about the revised water tariff following consultations with all the concerned stakeholders. The commission along with the NWSC had organised public hearings and provided 15 days to report any dissatisfaction with the decision. According to the corporation, consumers with meter connection will now have to pay a minimum monthly charge of Rs 110 per 10,000 litres of water compared to the existing Rs 50 for the same amount. However, consumers without meter will be charged Rs 560 per month. 

According to Arjun Bahadur Dhakal, managing director at the NWSC, there was an urgent need to revise the tariff to maintain and operate the institution and its branches responsible for providing adequate supply of safe drinking water to consumers. “The water tariff has not been hiked since 2005. Over the years, the rise in inflation rate and increase in expenses of infrastructure and other related equipment had affected the smooth operation of the system in the institution,” he said. 

The commission has also put forth a set of conditions before the corporation to improve both quality and quantity of drinking water. The conditions include improving the supply system, institutional restructuring, repair and upgradation of supply lines and leakage control.