Audit report raps MC over Rs 52-crore water bill dues

The Audit Department has rapped the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation for the non-recovery of over Rs 52 crore from the water bill defaulters.

In its report, the Audit Department has stated that as per the conditions contained in clause 5 (vi) of the Chandigarh Water Bylaws, in the event of non-payment of water charges or meter rent or any other dues by a consumer, the Municipal Commissioner may recover the arrears out of the security deposited by the consumer.

If the security deposited by the consumer is inadequate to recover the full arrears, the corporation shall be authorised firstly, to club the water charges with electricity charges for recovery and ultimately to disconnect the sewerage connections also in default of non-payment. Secondly, it is also authorised to recover the arrears in the same manner as land revenue.

The report says that during an examination of records of the Executive Engineer office, MC Public Health Division, Chandigarh, for 2022-23 and 2023-24, it was noticed that the recovery of water charges amounting to Rs 5214.98 lakh from consumers were pending as on March 31, 2024.

The same observations were also made in the previous audit for 2021-22. The reasons for outstanding dues and action taken were called for during the audit.

On being pointed out in the audit, the authorities stated that efforts were being made to reduce the outstanding amount.

Notices were being issued to the defaulters to deposit the dues. The water supply of defaulters was also being disconnected.

Meanwhile, MC sources said a majority of defaulters included offices of the Punjab, Haryana and Union Territory of Chandigarh. Over 40 government offices of the Chandigarh Administration have failed to clear the pending water bills for a long time. The MC officials said these offices didn’t clear their bills despite many reminders.

Rs 200-crore property tax outstanding

The recovery of Rs 200 crore from property tax defaulters has also become a major challenge for the Municipal Corporation. Various departments of Punjab, Haryana, Union Territory of Chandigarh, Panjab University, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) and Punjab Engineering College are some the institutions that owe the MC over Rs 100 crores in property tax. Sources said payments worth over Rs 100 crore were stuck due to litigation or disputes.

A senior officer of the MC said they had been issuing notices to Panjab University and the PGI for depositing the amount, but in vain. These institutions are working for the public welfare so we cannot take coercive action like sealing them.

Dr Ramneek Singh Bedi, Chairman, House Tax Committee, said the outstanding property tax had become a serious issue. The Municipal Corporation has been grappling with a severe financial crunch. All development projects have come to a standstill and no new project is being launched. Even road carpeting projects have been put on hold due to the fund crunch.