In relief for Delhiites, govt to soon waive ‘pending, inflated' water bills: Minister
Addressing a press conference on the BJP completing 100 days in power and the achievements of his departments, he said, 'A scheme to waive all domestic water bills is under preparation and it will be implemented soon. Once it is launched, all domestic water bills will be reduced by around 90%…'
'But until this scheme is officially launched, I have already said that if someone hasn't paid their bill, their connection won't be disconnected for now. The people of Delhi are aware that the government is bringing a new scheme, so everyone is waiting for it… So, until the bill payments are sorted out — and right now there are some technical issues — once that is resolved and the scheme is launched, it will reduce the inflated and pending bills up to 90%,' he added.
He said that, currently, the software being used by the Delhi Jal Board was developed and maintained by Wipro. 'Their lease period has already ended, and they have been given an extension… the company has refused to make any further changes to the current system… Once this is resolved, the scheme will be launched,' he said.
Sources said that under this scheme, the focus will be on waiving the Late Payment Surcharge (LPSC) of domestic bills. 'LPSC charges are calculated at 18% interest plus compounding charges,' said sources.
Currently, in the domestic category, the outstanding bill amount is approximately Rs 12,000 to Rs 13,000 crore, out of which Rs 7,000 crore is LPSC. 'If we waive that, we will still be able to recover at least Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 crore,' said sources.
'Because several residents have not paid their bills for the past 8-9 years, this is an incentive for them to pay the principal amount. Once LPSC is waived, the government will rationalise the bills and give a timeline to the people to pay the principal amount. They will be asked to pay the bills in three to four months. No more extensions or schemes will come after this,' said sources.
Besides, the minister also said that the government plans to upgrade the water billing system to address the challenges of revenue losses.
According to officials, Delhi has approximately 29 lakh water connections. As per the 2011 census, Delhi has 34 lakh households.
Last year, the previous AAP government also announced a one-time settlement scheme for pending water bills ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, claiming that it would benefit around 12 lakh consumers, of which 7 lakh will not have to pay any amount.
However, the scheme hit a roadblock after the Finance Department raised questions and said that it would lead to financial implications. It said that the benefits of the scheme should not be given to the consumers who have not paid the bills for the last 11 years.
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