HYDERABAD: After the increase in property taxes, residents will have to pay more for water and sewerage as their charges have been hiked by 5% every year under the Core Urban Region (CURE) Bill, 2026.The hike comes nearly 15 years after the last revision in water tariffs, which were fixed at around 10 per kilolitre. Unlike a one-time tariff revision, the CURE Bill provides for an automatic annual increase, meaning consumers will see their water and sewerage bills rise every financial year. This is a big blow to residents as Hyderabad is already battling a water supply shortfall of around 150 MGD, which is projected to widen to nearly 230 MGD. Despite the city’s growing population and rising demand, daily water supply has remained unchanged for more than a decade at around 600 MGD, against an estimated demand of 750 MGD.
Hike need of the hour: Officials
The provision is set to affect nearly 10 lakh consumers in Greater Hyderabad, excluding around five lakh consumers who receive up to 20 kilolitres of free water every month under the existing scheme.While the annual increase is pegged at 5%, its cumulative impact could be considerably higher as a consumer’s charge would rise by about 25% over five years.With the water board collecting around 110 crore a month in water charges, the 5% annual escalation could translate into an additional burden of roughly 50 crore to 60 crore a year on consumers. The financial impact would rise further in subsequent years as the compound increases.Officials have argued that a gradual 5% annual increase would help bridge the widening gap between revenue and expenditure without imposing the impact of a steep, one-time tariff revision on consumers.Sewerage to be delinkedThe bill also proposes a significant change by making sewerage charges independent of water supply charges. It states that sewerage charges will be fixed without any relation to the water supply service or any charge imposed for water. Every domestic and non-domestic occupier in the CURE will have to pay a sewerage charge to HMWSSB at a rate to be notified by the government.The bill further states that the sewerage charge will be treated as a contribution towards the integrated sewerage infrastructure of the CURE and will be payable upon occupation of the premises. The charge will be assessed with reference to the overall sewerage system and not on whether sewerage facilities are available or operational in a particular locality at a given point of time.
