Late-Payment Charges On Water Bill: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced complete waiver of late-payment charges on the water bill in the national capital till November 30. He said people who have got new water connections are eligible for the waiver.
“We are announcing a scheme to waive arrears to clean up Delhi Jal Board’s books,” Delhi CM announced, adding, some of these arrears are due to consumers but some are also due to incorrect billing.
“When we came to power in 2015, the water condition was bad. When I was campaigning, people sat outside their homes with water bills in their hands,” Mr. Kejriwal said while announcing the scheme ahead of the Delhi election next year.
Kejriwal also urged Delhiites to install water metres.
The Chief Minister said the full water bills of people in categories E, F, G, and H – who number around 10.5 lakh – have been waived till March 31 next year.
The 100 percent waiver on late-payment charges, however, is applicable across categories, Mr. Kejriwal said.
- For those in A and B categories, the waiver is 25 percent
- For the C category, it is 50 percent
- For the D category, it is 75 percent.
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is likely to get around Rs. 600 crores when people are encouraged to pay their water bills after the late-payment fee is waived, the Chief Minister said, adding at least 13.5 lakh people owe dues to the DJB.
“This is an open invitation to the people of Delhi to join the mainstream and install water meters. Only those consumers who have installed meters before 30 November will get the benefit of this scheme,” he said.
“Anyhow we have improved the water situation in the last few years. Fifty-eight percent of colonies had water pipeline, but others used tankers. It is too sad that even after 70 years of independence, people had no water. We have put pipelines in 95 percent of colonies. The rest will be done soon and work is under process,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
Earlier this month Kejriwal had announced that Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus rides for women will be free of charge from October 29.
“On the day of Raksha Bandhan, I want to give a gift to our sisters that there will be free rides for women on all DTC (Delhi Transport Corporation) and cluster buses from October 29, which will ensure their safety,” Kejriwal said. This facility will be available in both AC and non-AC buses.
