Delhi To Waive Late Fee On Water Bills As Dues Cross Rs 1.42 Lakh Crore

In a major relief measure for Delhi residents, the government is preparing to waive 100 per cent of the late payment surcharge on pending domestic water bills. The move comes as outrage grows over rising billing complaints and unpaid dues that have now crossed a staggering Rs 1.42 lakh crore, according to official figures.

Delhi's Water Minister Parvesh Verma confirmed that the waiver scheme is in the works and expected to roll out in the next two months.

"We're working on upgrading the billing software," Mr Verma said. "Once the system is ready, the surcharge waiver will be launched."

The minister clarified that the upcoming relief will apply only to residential consumers, whose total pending dues stand at Rs 15,000 crore. The bigger chunk of the dues - Rs 66,000 crore from commercial users and Rs 61,000 crore from government departments - will not be covered under the waiver, at least for now.

The government hopes the waiver will encourage more residents to clear their dues.

"Many people stopped paying because they didn't trust the bills," a senior official said. "With this step, we want to give them a reason to return and settle their accounts."

Across the city, many residents have long accused the DJB of inflated and arbitrary billing, often claiming that they continued to receive large bills even when their homes were vacant during COVID lockdown.

"During the pandemic, our house was locked for months, and yet the bills kept coming. Now the late fees have pushed the amount into lakhs," said Pawan Kumar, a resident of East Delhi. "We've filed complaints, but no one from DJB ever followed up. At least this waiver is a start."

Mr Verma, however, clarified that complaints related to inaccurate meter readings are not covered under the waiver.

"This waiver does not cover false meter readings. That's a separate issue. But to fix that too, we're introducing smart meters across the city, which will help eliminate manual errors," he said.

Currently, the DJB has around 1,000 meter readers responsible for around 26.5 lakh connections across 41 zones in Delhi.

The previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government too had promised a one-time settlement scheme to resolve billing disputes, but the plan was never implemented.

The current administration aims to make good on that promise - albeit with a narrower focus on waiving surcharges for domestic consumers only, as of yet.

With unpaid dues now crossing Rs 1.42 lakh crore, the real challenge now lies in finding a balance between recovering lost revenue and fixing a system that many residents no longer trust.