Free Water is Not the Answer

Saw following news from The Star today,

"SHAH ALAM: Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim says there will be no change in the state's water tariff until the water restructure process is completed.

Khalid said the water concessionaire in Selangor, Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor Sdn Bhd (Syabas) cannot raise the water tariff although such a hike was agreed upon by the Federal government.

"Syabas must get the Selangor government's approval before raising the water tariff. But I want to reiterate that Selangor will not allow a hike in tariff before the restructure process is completed..."

While I applaud the noble intention of MB for taking care of welfare of people in Selangor state, we all know that everything has a price, yes water carries a price, as a matter of fact a high price as it is going to become such a precious thing in near future based on the scale of forest clearing, pollution, dessertification etc.

To me, there are many ways to help poor people, providing everyone with first 20 cu meter of free water is the one of the worst ways, economically and environmentally, to help the poor (not to mention the rich who just quietly enjoy this benefit).