Himachal Pradesh: ‘Water Cess will not impose any financial burden on public’

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to introduce a Bill in the upcoming session of the state Assembly beginning on March 14 to impose a cess on water being utilised by the power companies for hydropower generation.

The government last month promulgated Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Generation Ordinance on March 10 to levy ‘Water Cess’ on the projects.

The Himachal Pradesh Water Cess on Hydropower Generation Bill, 2023 would also be brought in the upcoming Assembly session, for which the state cabinet has already given its approval.

An official spokesperson informed here on Sunday that the government has imposed a ‘Water Cess’ only on hydro-power projects of the state and it will not put any financial burden on the common people.

The spokesperson said the implementation of the ‘Water Cess’ was aimed to increase the state’s revenue and strengthen its economy so that sufficient funds would be available for welfare schemes.

He said that apart from Himachal Pradesh, the cess was being imposed on hydropower projects in the neighbouring state Uttarakhand and the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as well.

He said that 172 hydropower projects have been brought under the purview of water cess. The water cess will be collected by the state government from the hydropower projects keeping in view the size of the project and other parameters, he added.