After waiving late payment surcharges (LPSC) on water bills for domestic consumers, the Delhi government is soon going to extend the benefit to commercial consumers, including shop owners, private companies, and malls, by January next year, officials said.
However, instead of the 100% waiver of LPSC charges available to domestic consumers, the government will waive only 90% of LPSC charges on water bills for the commercial category, officials said.
Among the categories of water consumers in Delhi – domestic, government, and commercial – the latter has the highest pending dues, standing at Rs 66,000 crore.
“This category tops the pending dues list. So, we are planning to give 90% relaxation for those who settle their bills in two phases. In the first phase, a 90% waiver will be given to those who settle their bills in this cycle, while in the second phase, only 70% of the LPSC on water bills will be waived,” said an official.
Once all modalities are completed, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will announce the waiver scheme for the commercial category at the beginning of next year, officials added.
According to officials, a total of Rs 1.42 lakh crore in water bills is pending from consumers who are in dispute with the DJB. Under the ongoing waiver scheme, which was launched in October, the government has announced that residents who pay their bills by 31 January will get 100% relaxation of LPSC. Those who miss the deadline will have a chance to pay between 1 February and 31 March, but they will be able to avail only 70% off on their LPSC charges.
There are a total of 29 lakh registered water consumers, of which over 15 lakh accounts have pending dues. Officials say that, considering the population, this is very insufficient. Most customers do not pay their bills, and there are several shortcomings in the billing system. To address this problem, the government is also planning to upgrade the entire city with smart metering and implement a new water bill collection system.
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At present, there are about 900 meter readers, taking readings for about 26.50 lakh consumers in 41 zones of the DJB, said officials.
Under the ongoing scheme, the total billed amount is Rs 16,100 crore – Rs 5,100 crore is the principal, while the remaining Rs 11,000 crore is the accumulated LPSC.
Since the scheme’s rollout, consumers have already availed rebates worth Rs 96.30 crore, and Rs 32.79 crore has been successfully collected by the DJB. Officials expect recoveries to rise significantly after the next billing cycle, once consumers receive updated bills reflecting the waived surcharges.
