Delhi  government announces waiver of water dues

In a bid to clean records of consumers and make them pay their pending bills, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced a one-time waiver of water arrears. Through the scheme, Kejriwal said all categories of houses will receive an exemption from late fee payments, while their pending bills will also be waived either partly or fully based on the housing category.

The announcement, which comes ahead of the assembly elections in the national capital early next year, is valid for arrears until March 2019, and is likely to give a boost of ₹600 crore to the state government through recovery of a portion of the water arrears.

Kejriwal said there are about 1.35 million water consumers in Delhi who have run up arrears.

Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal who is also the chairman of the Delhi Jal Board, said the government has updated its payment systems and water metres, which will ensure that all arrears are cleared and those taking the readings will also be location tagged.

“Today, we are announcing a scheme to waive arrears to clean up Delhi Jal Board’s books. Some of these arrears are due to consumers, but some are also due to incorrect billing,” said Kejriwal, who is also Aam Aadmi Party’s national convener. Consumers will have to install functional water meters by November to be eligible for the scheme.

House tax categories of E, F, G and H will get waiver for entire amount, while categories A and B will get 25% waiver, C will get 50% and D to get a 75% waiver.