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Agencies
and households in Ha Noi will have to pay fees for discharging waste
water, following a decision by the city People’s Committee.
Householders who don’t have
access to safe water will be exempted as will manufacturers and
agencies who pay industrial waste water fees.
The Ha Noi Clean Water
Company will be responsible for collecting the fee, 92 per cent of
which will be put into the State budget with the balance being used for
collection costs.
The fee will be used to minimise pollution by improving waste treatment and allocating funds for environment protection.
Under the decision, all
households who are supplied safe water will have to pay a monthly fee
equal to 10 per cent of their monthly water bill, before tax.
A lower fee will be charged
in 14 low-income rural districts of expanded Ha Noi such as Ba Vi, Phuc
Tho, Quoc Oai, Thach That, Chuong My, Thanh Oai, where householders
will pay a domestic waste water fee equal to 5 per cent of the water
bill.
"This fee is very
reasonable," said Tran Minh Que, of Le Thanh Nghi Street. "My household
only pays about VND5,000 a month." (The amount is equal to US$0.29).
"What’s more, this decision has been made after five years of studying public opinion and people’s living conditions," said Que.
HCM City introduced a similar fee three years ago.
VietNamNet/Viet Nam News
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