Water tariff doubles for domestic and agricultural use in Maharashtra

Kolhapur: The Water Resources Regulatory Authority (WRRA) has announced a significant hike in water tariffs for domestic, industrial, and irrigation purposes across the state .

Effective from July 1, 2026, through June 2029, water rates will double for domestic and irrigation use and nearly triple for most industrial categories.The new rates come after a long hiatus. While the authority last fixed rates in 2022, its term expired in June 2025. Due to administrative delays, the old rates were repeatedly extended until the current board — led by chairperson Shwetali Thackeray and members Rajendra Thackeray and Dr Prabhat Kumar Jain — finalised the new structure this month.Under the new tariff structure, municipal corporations earlier paid Rs 0.50 for every 1,000 litres, which increased to Rs 1.60. For gram panchayat, the old rate of Rs 0.30 increased to Rs 0.80. In Industrial category-1, the old rate of Rs 9.60 increased to Rs 27. Meanwhile, for industrial category-2, the old rate of Rs240 has been reduced to Rs202.The price hike has met with immediate resistance from the agricultural sector.

Farmers, already struggling with parched crops and rising costs, have called for an immediate withdrawal of the revision.Vikrant Patil-Kinikar of the Maharashtra State Irrigation Federation termed the hike "unfair". "We are in discussions with all stakeholders. If the govt does not retract this increase, we will launch a legal battle alongside large-scale street protests," he warned.The financial repercussions for local administrations are expected to be severe.

For instance, the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC) will now have to pay an additional Rs28 lakh per month to the irrigation department—a total annual burden of Rs3.36 crore.Harshjit Ghatge, KMC water engineer, said, "The rate for flowing water has risen from Rs1.32 to Rs1.60 per 1,000 litres, still water has increased from Rs0.62 to Rs0.80, and the commercial rate has jumped from Rs6.60 to Rs8."The authority has also introduced specific rules for water user organisations that invest in their own infrastructure.

If an organisation constructs its own reservoirs, dams, or lift irrigation systems, they will be charged only 10% of the seasonally fixed bulk water charges. However, if the govt provides the reservoir but the utility manages the distribution infrastructure, a 16% fee will be levied.Defending the decision, Jyoti Devkar, executive engineer (Kolhapur north) for the irrigation department, stated that the hike was necessary to keep pace with economic realities."The rates were determined after studying the costs of irrigation management, maintenance, project repairs, and rising labour wages, all while accounting for the inflation index," Devkar said. She added that the authority followed due process by inviting public objections and holding hearings before granting final approval..