Come June 2008 and citizens will have to fork out a sum ranging between Rs 75 and 110 per month as water tax but under the name of water service charges or water levy. A proposal to collect these service charges based on the size of the ferrule provided by the city civic body was tabled today at the annual budget of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) by city mayor Mr Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya. Also proposed was the implementation of the unit area method of assessment of property tax from the fiscal year 2009-10 and the installation of water meters across the city. Presenting a Rs 110.12 crore deficit budget with a total allocation of Rs 2500 crore, Mr Bhattacharyya said: "It is being felt that water should not come indiscriminately, free of cost. Those who can afford must pay for this costly product and KMC should recover some portion of the expenses on operation and maintenance.' The mayor also informed that Rs 372.16 crore has been generated as surplus for the 2007-08 with a 69 per cent growth rate. As per the proposed rates water connections from ferrules of 20 mm diameter will be chargeable at Rs 75 per month while 25 mm diameter ferrules will be chargeable at Rs 110 per month. Ferrule connections of 10 mm and 15 mm diameter will not be chargeable. Interestingly, a total of 268,000 households in the city covering 79 per cent of the total KMC areas receive water. However, the decision to implement water charges would affect about 20,000-odd households. "Bustee and slum dwellers will be exempt from paying the fees. Moreover, water service charges will be collected by issu ing separate bills and these will not be merged with property tax bills,' the mayor said. How ever, it will still be two to three months before the bills are issued. While Trinamul Congress led councillors vehemently opp osed the taxation structure "as anti-people' and vandalised the House, Congress councillors restrained from objecting to the implementation of these charges. "What are the Trinamul Congress councillors objecting to? They were to charge even the slum dwellers and low-in come groups. Moreover, we are not imposing any new tax, just a continuation of a tax that was prevalent in the city till 2004,' Mr Bhattacharyya said.