Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, made the announcement on Tuesday that the government will implement a one-time settlement scheme for 11.7 lakh domestic customers who are behind on their water bills.
Kejriwal stated at a press conference held at the Delhi Secretariat that the government intends to implement the scheme on August 1 and that customers will receive corrected bills thereafter.
"There has been a severe accumulation of water bills. During the COVID-19 pandemic, meter readings could not be taken. Meter readers filed false readings and therefore, people received wrong bills. There are 27.6 lakh domestic meters in Delhi and of these, 11.7 lakh bills have arrears and they have not been submitted. The arrears are to the tune of Rs 5,737 crore," he said.
The chief minister, while explaining the scheme, said it will be partitioned into two sub-heads - - one will cover the individuals who have at least two right readings, and the other will cover the people who have one or no right meter reading.
"Had we gone about correcting every bill, it would have taken us more than 100 years to rectify those. Through this scheme, we will settle the bills of 11.7 lakh consumers. In fact, of these 11.7 lakh consumers, seven lakh will get zero bills following the implementation of the scheme," he said.
Kejriwal stated that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has approved the plan and that it will soon be presented to the cabinet.
Customers will have three months to pay their bills after the scheme is implemented.
"If they fail to pay the bills within the three months, they will have to pay the bills with arrears," Kejriwal said.
He went on to say that the government is taking steps to prevent inaccurate meter readings.
Also Read | Delhi boils at 43°C, temperatures expected to rise to 45-50°C in Punjab, Haryana: IMD
Also Read | Delhi govt set to ask bike-taxi aggregators to stop operations in national capital after Supreme Court order
