Opposing the proposed hike in water tax, the standing committee members of Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), Ashok Yenpure and Ujjwal Keskar on Wednesday pointed out that instead of lifting water from the canal which costs more for treatment, if the water is brought in a closed pipeline from the dams, it would save crores of rupees for the civic body.

Yenpure said, "In September 2006, the then civic commissioner had signed an agreement with the State Irrigation Department, without getting a nod from the civic standing committee.

Therefore, that agreement stands invalid and illegal. As per the agreement, the rate per 10,000 litres of water supply from canal is Rs 38 for domestic consumers and Rs 95 for commercial consumers. However, if the same amount of water is provided through a closed pipeline, its rates are Rs 1.70 and Rs 6.60 respectively."

Keskar said, "Even the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS) has recommended water supply through a closed pipeline, which should be considered. This would save Rs 8.5 crore for the civic body. Instead of wasting a lot of money, spending Rs 2 crore on closed pipeline water supply scheme would save money."

They also pointed out that the state government is yet to pay Rs 100 crore to the civic body for various schemes pertaining to water supply.