Latest news with #LatePaymentSurcharge
Hindustan Times
12-07-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
DJB faces ₹1.42 lakh crore unpaid dues: Parvesh Verma
New Delhi, Water Minister Parvesh Verma on Saturday said the Delhi Jal Board is staring at an unprecedented financial crisis, with pending water bills around ₹1.42 lakh crore across the city. DJB faces ₹ 1.42 lakh crore unpaid dues: Parvesh Verma The DJB, which is in charge of supplying water, has been facing a major cash crunch. "In three categories, we have identified that the commercial category has the highest amount of dues ₹66,000 crore followed by the government category ₹61,000 crore and then domestic ₹15,000 crore," said Verma. The minister said these are mostly Late Payment Surcharge , adding the government plans to waive it off for domestic and government categories. The amount of charge that would be waived off is yet to be decided, he said. The DJB, which as well manages the sewage system, including collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater, in Delhi is also burdened by a debt exceeding ₹70,000 crore, including principal and interest amounts. Verma said the Delhi government has approached the Centre to assist in recovering dues from various government establishments. "We have also requested the Centre to help the government in getting the bill dues from several government establishments owed to us. The Board urgently needs funds to execute several infrastructure projects, including the cleaning of the Yamuna and upgrading the water supply network," he added. At least ₹6,000 to ₹7,000 crore in revenue will be collected after the LPSC waiver in the domestic and government categories, according to the government estimates. The establishments like private schools and hospitals are all included under the commercial category besides the government buildings and offices. Currently, the DJB has around 29 lakh registered customers. "We plan to waive off LPSC charges and the system will be ready within a month," said Verma. According to officials, there is also an issue of high compound interest rates on late bills around 18 per cent which increases the total bill amount significantly. In a step towards reducing consumer disputes regarding faulty meters and meter reading issues, the DJB is also planning to replace all mechanical water meters with smart water meters, they said. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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Business Standard
12-07-2025
- Business
- Business Standard
Delhi Jal Board faces Rs 1.42 trillion unpaid dues: Parvesh Verma
Water Minister Parvesh Verma on Saturday said the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is staring at an unprecedented financial crisis, with pending water bills around Rs 1.42 lakh crore across the city. The DJB, which is in charge of supplying water, has been facing a major cash crunch. "In three categories, we have identified that the commercial category has the highest amount of dues Rs 66,000 crore followed by the government category Rs 61,000 crore and then domestic Rs 15,000 crore," said Verma. The minister said these are mostly Late Payment Surcharge (LPSC), adding the government plans to waive it off for domestic and government categories. The amount of charge that would be waived off is yet to be decided, he said. The DJB, which as well manages the sewage system, including collection, treatment and disposal of wastewater, in Delhi is also burdened by a debt exceeding Rs 70,000 crore, including principal and interest amounts. Verma said the Delhi government has approached the Centre to assist in recovering dues from various government establishments. "We have also requested the Centre to help the government in getting the bill dues from several government establishments owed to us. The Board urgently needs funds to execute several infrastructure projects, including the cleaning of the Yamuna and upgrading the water supply network," he added. At least Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 crore in revenue will be collected after the LPSC waiver in the domestic and government categories, according to the government estimates. The establishments like private schools and hospitals are all included under the commercial category besides the government buildings and offices. Currently, the DJB has around 29 lakh registered customers. "We plan to waive off LPSC charges and the system will be ready within a month," said Verma. According to officials, there is also an issue of high compound interest rates on late bills -- around 18 per cent -- which increases the total bill amount significantly. In a step towards reducing consumer disputes regarding faulty meters and meter reading issues, the DJB is also planning to replace all mechanical water meters with smart water meters, they said.
Indian Express
03-06-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
In relief for Delhiites, govt to soon waive ‘pending, inflated' water bills: Minister
In a major relief to residents of the national capital, the Delhi government is soon going to waive 'pending, inflated' water bills, along with the late payment surcharge, Water Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh said Monday. 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.
Hindustan Times
24-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Supreme Court directs Rajasthan discoms to pay 186 crore to Adani Power
The Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Rajasthan's power distribution companies against a ruling of the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) in favour of Adani Power Rajasthan Ltd, asking them to pay Adani Power around ₹186 crore in compensation. A bench of justices M M Sundresh and Rajesh Bindal said on May 23, that it found no merit in the appeals filed by Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (JVVNL) and other state discoms. The court upheld APTEL's April 2024 decision that recognised a levy introduced by Coal India Ltd (CIL) as a 'change in law' event under the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Adani Power and the discoms. In December 2017, CIL had issued a notification introducing an Evacuation Facility Charge to cover the expenses related to transporting coal from the mine to the destination. Adani Power, which had entered a PPA to supply 1,200 MW of power to Rajasthan discoms, argued that such charge amounted to a sudden change in law and increased its cost of generating electricity. Since the provisions of the PPA protected it from financial losses due to new or modified laws, rules, or charges imposed by the government, Adani Power claimed it was entitled to receive compensation. After the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission partially allowed Adani Power's claim, the company as well as the State discoms appealed to APTEL. The Tribunal held that the new charge levied by CIL was a statutory levy imposed by a government entity and thereby qualifying as a change-in-law event and thus, Adani Power should be paid the compensation by the discoms. In its judgement on Friday, the Supreme Court, too, agreed with the Tribunal's ruling and hence, upheld its order directing JVVNL and other discoms to compensate Adani Power. The court noted that the introduction of the EFC disrupted the economic basis of the PPA and activated the principle of restitution. 'The new statutory levy by a government body like CIL qualifies as a change in law, thereby entitling APRL to be restored to the same economic position as if the change had not occurred,' the court said while dismissing the appeals filed by the discoms. The apex court also upheld the tribunal's direction that compensation to Adani Power should be paid from the date of the CIL notification, along with carrying costs at Late Payment Surcharge rates specified in the PPA. The discoms thus, will now have to pay ₹186 crore to Adani Power in dues, the top court said.
Time of India
23-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
SC upholds Rs 186 cr payout by Rajasthan Discom to Adani Power over ‘change in law'
The Supreme Court on Friday upheld an Appellate Tribunal for Electricity's order that asked Rajasthan discom to pay 'huge sum' of Rs 186 crore to Adani Power Rajasthan, now merged into Adani Power, as benefits due to 'change in law' along with carrying costs at Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) rates of their Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). A Bench led by Justice MM Sundresh said that it did not find any reason to interfere with the tribunal's April 2024 judgment. 'Liability has been fastened upon the appellants (discoms) under the agreement. The contention that the supplementary bill ought to have been raised earlier and, therefore, the payment can only be made thereafter has neither a factual basis nor a legal one,' it said. However, the court noted that Adani had not notified the change in law event immediately after the notification was issued in 2017. The four Rajasthan discoms - Jaipur Vidyut Vitran Nigam, Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam, Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam and Rajasthan Urja Vikas Nigam (Now Rajasthan Urja Vikas and IT Services) – had alleged that Aptel had allowed a huge margin of profit/windfall gain in favour of Adani, despite the fault being attributable to Adani for causing delay in litigation. In 2009, Adani Power in a competitive bidding process had bagged contract for supply of 1200 MW of power to be generated at Kawai Power Project, Rajasthan, to the discoms to meet the power requirements of the state. The four discoms had entered into a power PPA with Adani Power for supply of 1200 MW aggregate contracted capacity at a levelised tariff of Rs 3.238 per unit. The agreement was also approved by the Rajasthan Electricity Regulatory Commission. In 2017, Coal India , through a notification, imposed a levy of evacuation facility charges at Rs 50 per tonne applicable on every coal dispatch, except dispatch through rapid loading arrangement, with effect from December 20, 2017. Adani had notified Rajasthan Urja Vikas that the Coal India notification constituted a 'change in law' event and also filed a petition before the Commission seeking evacuation facility charges along with carrying costs. While the Commission in 2019 disallowed Adani's petition for the levy of evacuation charges by Coal India, the sectoral tribunal allowed the evacuation facility charges to be paid in favour of Adani Power from the date of notification and also granted relief of carrying cost at LPS rates of PPA to Adani. This was challenged by the Rajasthan discoms before the Supreme Court.
