After facing strong oppositions for levying sewerage charges, the Himachal Pradesh Government announced to withdraw the notification issued on September 21, on Saturday.

The notification issued by the state government had proposed to levy Rs 25 per seat per month as sewerage charges from those commercial users, who were drawing private water but using government sewerage lines.

The move, initially misunderstood by many as a ‘toilet tax,’ has been taken back to prevent misinformation and address concerns raised by consumers and political leaders.

The government has clarified the Rs 25 charge would not apply across the board. It will only affect consumers who do not use water supplied by the Municipal Corporation (MC) or the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department but still avail themselves of the sewerage system. This clarification comes after confusion spread on social media, with some sections inaccurately describing the levy as a new “toilet tax.”

The state government said  no new tax was being introduced, and the decision to impose the Rs 25 charge was specific to certain consumers who are not on the regular water supply network but still use public sewerage services.

Despite the government’s clarification, BJP leaders are raising this issue and even BJP’s national president JP Nadda during his tour to the state had criticized the so-called “‘toilet tax”.

With water tariff increase already in effect, the proportional rise in sewerage charges could still impact consumers in urban areas.

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