At present the daily demand of water in Dhaka is about 250 crore liters. In contrast, Dhaka WASA claims to produce 260 crore liters of water daily. According to WASA, excluding 20 percent of system loss, 52 crore liters of water per day does not reach the customer. Customers get 206 crore liters. As a result, there is a shortage of water.
Dhaka WASA has collected water bill of Tk 1,201 crore in the last financial year. As such, the financial amount of 20 percent system loss is more than Tk 240 crore. Now WASA wants to increase the price of water by 20 percent from July 1. Citizens' organizations and urban activists working on consumer rights say more than 5 percent of system losses in an organization are evidence of inefficiency and mismanagement. WASA wants to put the blame for its mismanagement and irregularities on the people. Much of what the company is talking about as system loss is actually 'theft'. Unscrupulous WASA officials take money through illegal water connections. These need to be stopped.
A number of WASA officials told Prothom Alo on condition of anonymity that faults in the supply line and illegal connections were the main reasons for the loss. WASA has taken initiative to bring the whole of Dhaka under District Meter Area (DMA) to reduce system loss. But progress is slow as the pace of the project slows down. When DMA is introduced, it will automatically calculate how much water is being produced, how much is being used. This will reduce corruption.
Since the Awami League government took over in 2009, Dhaka WASA has increased the price of water 14 times in the last 13 years. Despite the Corona epidemic, Dhaka WASA has increased water prices by 31 percent in the last two years. Now the WASA authorities are raising various arguments to increase the price of water. However, WASA is not raising the issue of system loss.
At a function held at WASA Bhaban on February 9, WASA Managing Director Taksim A Khan said that there is a big gap between WASA water production cost and selling price. The government has to subsidize 10 rupees for every one thousand liters of water. No organization can stand on its own two feet by begging from the government. WASA will have to stand on its own two feet by raising the price of water.
The price of water that cannot be drunk properly is increasing every year. People do not protest in fear now. So the burden of spending is going to be easily imposed on people.
Mizanur Rahman, a resident of Jurain in the capital
According to the Dhaka WASA audit report for the financial year 2020-21, the revenue of Dhaka WASA has been collected from water and sewerage bills alone amounting to Tk 1,592 crore. Of this, the income from water bill is Tk 1,201 crore. The rest comes from the Suarez bill. Excluding taxes and all other expenses, Dhaka WASA has made a profit of Tk 49.64 crore in the fiscal year 2020-21. At the end of the year, Dhaka WASA's accumulated profit stood at Tk 692 crore.
Professor Akhter Mahmud, former president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners, an organization of urbanists, said the government's proposal to increase water prices was unreasonable despite the government's profitability. He told Prothom Alo that the financial report did not match with the begging statement of the MD. They are making the people miserable by increasing the price of water to increase their facilities.
What is the actual cost of producing water?
Speaking at a function held at WASA Bhaban on February 9, WASA MD Taksim A Khan said that there is a big gap between the cost of producing water and the selling price. The average production cost per thousand liters of water is 25 rupees. It is being sold at 15 rupees.
However, after talking to several WASA officials, it is learned that the information provided by Dhaka WASA authorities about the cost of water production is not realistic. The production cost is Rs. 25 for purified water from surface sources. At present, 75% of the water supplied by Dhaka WASA comes from deep tube wells or underground sources. The remaining 35 percent is to be purified from surface sources.
At the event on February 9, Taksim A Khan was asked about the average production cost of water from both groundwater and surface sources. This is a complex calculation, he said. However, the production cost of one thousand liters of water from two sources is around 21 to 22 rupees.
But WASA officials say the cost of producing water from deep tube wells is low. The average production cost of both underground and overhead sources is less than Rs. As such, the issue of subsidy of Rs 10 per one thousand liters of water is not correct.
Dhaka WASA water price is the highest
Compared to the water prices of Chittagong, Rajshahi and Khulna WASA, the price of Dhaka WASA water is almost double. The current price of Dhaka WASA per unit (one thousand liters) of water is 15.18 rupees for residential and 42 rupees for commercial. The price of water per unit for Khulna WASA residents is Tk 8.96 and for traders it is Tk 14. Chittagong WASA resident 13.02 rupees and commercial 31.62 rupees.
The price of WASA resident in Rajshahi is Tk 6.71 and for traders it is Tk 13.72. About 100% of Rajshahi WASA water is produced from deep tube wells. According to Rajshahi WASA sources, the production cost of water per unit is around 9 rupees.
Although Dhaka WASA keeps increasing the price every year, this water cannot be drunk without boiling or purifying it. Mizanur Rahman, a resident of Jurain area of the capital, came in front of the WASA building on April 23, 2019 with a glass jug and bottle of water, glass, lemon and sugar packets to explain the quality of WASA water to the MD of this organization. However, he did not meet the MD that day. Mizanur Rahman told Prothom Alo about the new proposal to increase the price of water this time. WASA should first focus on fixing water quality. People do not protest in fear now. So the burden of expenditure is being easily imposed on the people.
In 2019, Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) published a report titled 'Dhaka WASA: Challenges of Good Governance and Ways to Overcome It'. It said Dhaka WASA failed to supply potable water through the pipeline. 91 percent of consumers drink boiled drinking water. It costs Tk 322 crore a year to make boiling water suitable for drinking.
Projects with loan money, benefits do not match
Due to the slow implementation of the Dhaka WASA project, the company's costs are increasing. Most of the projects are being done with foreign loan money. The burden of these debts is on the shoulders of the people. On the other hand, the benefits of these loan projects are not being fully realized. A refinery has been constructed at a cost of Tk 3,060 crore to supply water of Padma river to the capital. But the company has not yet set up a supply line to bring water from the refinery to the capital. That's why about 50 percent of the refinery's capacity has been unused for more than two years.
The Chinese government has given a loan of Tk 2,500 crore for the Padma-Yashaldia refinery project. An official of Dhaka WASA said on condition of anonymity that everyone has received their commission for the water supply project. But the loan installments are being repaid in people's money.
Special incentives for staff, questions about MD's salary
In October 2009, Taksim A Khan was appointed as the MD of WASA. Since then, his salary and allowances have increased by 421 percent. At present his salary and allowance is 6 lakh 25 thousand rupees per month. WASA employees themselves have raised questions about the salary and allowance of the MD of the company that has to continue begging.
Several WASA officials told Prothom Alo that the chief executives of RAJUK, Petrobangla and Bangladesh Petroleum Corporation have the post of Additional Secretary. The importance and management of these organizations is no less than that of Dhaka WASA. The monthly salary and allowance of an additional secretary is around one lakh rupees. And if an additional secretary is appointed to the post of MD of Dhaka WASA, it is possible to save at least 60 lakh rupees per year.
Last year, all the officers and employees of Dhaka WASA appointed on permanent, contract basis and on deputation were given a special reward equal to four basic salaries. Dhaka WASA is giving such special incentives to the employees every year. There are also questions about four incentives a year for employees of a subsidized company.
The ACC's recommendation was not taken into account
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in its 2019 annual report has identified the sources of irregularities and corruption in 11 sectors of Dhaka WASA. The ACC's institutional team investigated and prepared the report. It said WASA projects were not completed on time, did not work as planned and there were various irregularities and corruption including abnormal increase in project duration and cost. These works are being carried out by the project director, project implementation engineers and WASA management authorities.
The ACC report also highlighted corruption in the selection of consultants and contractors for the WASA project. The ACC has recommended 12 points including formation of a monitoring team to prevent irregularities, corruption and waste of money in the ongoing WASA project. However, the Dhaka WASA authorities did not take into account these recommendations.
Golam Rahman, president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB), an organization working on consumer rights , told Trace 71 that Dhaka WASA was failing in many cases to provide safe and safe water. The organization wants to impose the responsibility of its mismanagement, corruption and extravagance on the people. The responsibility for the delay and increased cost of project implementation rests with the top WASA executives. They need to be held accountable.
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