Water tax will not be hiked as proposed by Centre

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre's proposal to increase the water tax by five percent annually will not be implemented in the state. The decision was made in the context of the hike in water tariff introduced in February. The water authority stated the water tax cannot be increased again as the recent hike was above 5 percent. Water tax was increased by 5 percent in 2021 and 2022 as proposed by the Centre as part of increasing the state's borrowing limit by two percent. Kerala had recently written a letter to the Centre explaining the situation in the state. However, the Centre has not yet responded.