Public Outrage As WSSCA Abbottabad Issues Inflated Water Bills Despite Rollback Assurance

Sumaira FH Published September 20, 2025 | 10:30 AM

ABBOTTABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Sep, 2025) The Water and Sanitation Services Company Abbottabad (WSSCA) has triggered widespread anger by issuing inflated water bills to residents of four urban union councils, despite earlier assurances that recently imposed taxes would be withdrawn.

According to details, WSSCA increased charges for five, ten, fifteen marla and one kanal plots under a slab system, adding water, sewerage and sanitation taxes. For ten marla households, the bill was nearly doubled from Rs 750 to Rs 1,350, while fifteen marla and one kanal properties received even higher charges. This sudden hike has left citizens in shock and frustration.

Earlier, members of the Tehsil Council were assured by the Secretary of Local Government and Rural Development that the additional taxes would be withdrawn. However, WSSCA distributed the revised bills anyway, sparking a wave of public resentment. Citizens have threatened to protest at Fawara Chowk and outside the Deputy Commissioner’s office if the issue is not resolved.

WSSCA spokes Umar Swati stated that due to the council’s decision to roll back the taxes, residents have been instructed not to pay the new bills for now. He added that the bills were categorized under a slab system across the four affected union councils.

Citizens, however, expressed outrage, recalling that the Tehsil Municipal Administration previously charged only Rs 60 for water bills, which has now risen to Rs 300 per month, with additional conservancy and sewerage charges pushing the total even higher.

They also criticized the misuse of the Japanese-funded gravity flow water scheme, which was designed to provide free water to Abbottabad’s urban areas. Residents claim that what was meant as a public welfare project has now been turned into a source of “organized overcharging,” creating a wave of anger across the city.