In order to treat water as an economic good, regulatory bodies play a key role in ensuring transparency in water pricing. Explain (200 Words)
Refer - Business Line
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IAS Parliament 2 years
KEY POINTS
· A robust pricing strategy must be in place for individual State water regulator, thus ensuring uniform State-level water tariffs, subsidies, and other factors such as unaccounted for water, connection cost, and metering.
· The approach to tariff determination is normally based on the cost of service or the ability of various users to pay for the service or a combination of both.
· At the Central level, the National Water Policy (NWP) 2012 highlighted the need for regulatory bodies. The policy mandates a water framework law that will facilitate the establishment of regulatory authorities to plan, manage, and regulate water resources.
· The NWP defines the role of the water regulatory authorities, but does not elaborate much on their functions. Their role would also be advising the government and other agencies to regulate water usage, in addition to regulating water tariffs.
· For example, while most have the power to regulate equitable distribution and quality of water and establish a tariff system, some have the authority to regulate tariffs only in specific sectors (irrigation, industrial, domestic, or their combination), and have no adjudicatory powers for dispute resolution.
· Setting up independent water regulatory bodies with clearly defined roles to ensure efficiency and transparency in the water pricing process is a must.
Aravind R 2 years
Kindly review this mam/sir
IAS Parliament 2 years
Try to stick to the word limit and include data to support your answer. Keep Writing.
