State Electric Company Limited (STELCO) has filed a case at the High Court to reverse Male’ City Council’s decision to hike fees issued for work to dig roads to establish utility services.
STELCO filed a constitutional case requesting the High Court to reverse recent policy changes, claiming that Male’ City Council’s decision will increase the cost of utility services for residents. The council published the policy changes in January, which hiked the fee for digging roads by 154%. However, the council stated that fees will not be levied for digging roads for utilities-related work.
Speaking to the press, Managing Director Ahmed Shareef said the fees have increased by 100% which has forced STELCO to raise the price of its services, negatively impacting the public. He said Male’ City Council made the decision without making an announcement or holding any discussion with utility companies. He also said that Male’ City Council had not given any time for companies to adjust to the change and the council had also not held any discussions with the Local Government Authority (LGA).
Furthermore, Shareef said companies were not previously charged for digging pavements and working on junctions but the council is now charging USD1.6 for digging a foot of pavement, USD6.5 for removing stones to dig a foot of the road, and USD20 for digging a foot of the road to work on a junction.
Male’ City Council has also increased the fee for putting up a signboard on roads from USD3.9 to USD13 and the fee for closing off roads from USD9.7 to USD20. STELCO said the changes will result in households having to pay 154% more for utility services.