IWK should follow suit

15/04/2008 The Star

THE recent announcement that water would be free to all domestic consumers in Selangor as long as each household has its own meter to record the usage is indeed laudable, although it is only for 20 cu m of water each month.

Now, the question is, how would Syabas charge the consumers, especially those whose water usage exceeds the permitted limit by only five cubic metres?

Would it charge such a consumer for five cubic metres, or for the full amount?

If the consumer is charged only for the extra five cubic metres of water used, then every domestic consumer will benefit from this allowance. Otherwise, it will benefit only a few families.

With this concession, water billing would have to revert to once every two months, instead of monthly, because it would be uneconomic to have a meter reader making his rounds just to issue a small bill.

Will someone please clarify how the water billing works?

Well, the next public amenity-cum-service provider which should follow suit is Indah Water Konsortium (IWK).

For several years, this corporation has been collecting half-yearly payments of a minimum of RM8 per month from each household without fail, even when the consumer pays only RM6 per month for water. This is exorbitant to the less affluent.

In fact, it is outrageous to ask the poor to pay for six months at one go, especially when the infrastructure and underground sewage systems had been provided by the developers of housing estates.

Surely, it, too, can waive this minimum charge for sewage services for homes with water usage of 20 cu m or less per month.

The amount of running water would clean whatever is in the underground sewage of a home with such low occupancy!

The bottom line is that IWK should also provide free service to households with monthly water consumption of 20 cu m or less.

LAU BING,
Subang Jaya