Date:19/02/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/02/19/stories/2003021904421300.htm

National

Water cess Bill passed

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI Feb. 18. Lok Sabha today passed a Bill that proposes a three-fold increase in the water cess to be paid by all categories of industry in a bid to augment the resources of the Central and State pollution control boards and to promote economy in the use of water to halt pollution.

Moving the Bill for consideration of the Lower House, the Union Environment Minister, T. R. Baalu, said it became necessary as the cess which was collected now was too low as it had been fixed in 1991 and had not been revised since then.

Even while pollution control boards were facing increasing financial problems, the cess was not proving to be a sufficient deterrent to push the industries to reduce their use of water.

He said the average per capita availability of freshwater in the country has come down from 5,177 cubic metres in 1951 to 1,820 cubic metres in 2001.

An important feature of the Bill is that it has a provision under which industries consuming water below the specified quantities would be exempted from the cess.

The Union Environment Ministry would issue notifications indicating the maximum permissible level of water usage.