‘One-time settlement’ scheme to redress faulty water bills in Delhi
New Delhi, February 9
The Delhi Government on Friday announced that it would roll out a “One-time settlement (OTS)” scheme for recasting faulty water bills soon in the Capital.
The proposal is yet to receive green light from the Cabinet. Under this scheme, a new bill with recast amount will be generated and sent to the consumer. Consumers can accept the one-time settlement and pay the new bill, thereby clearing all previous arrears in one go.
The water bill will be waived off for those consumers who have a consuming pattern of less than 20 KL (kilolitre). Delhi’s Urban Development Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has issued directions to bring the proposal to the council of ministers by February 14.
Under the OTS scheme, faulty water bills of consumers will be recast as per median reading of the past years. Bills will be recast on the basis of two “OK readings” in the previous one year. For those consumers who are unable to produce two “OK readings” in the past year, reading will be calculated on the basis of the last five years. If the problem of faulty meters or bills exceeds five years, the bill will be recast on the basis of the consumption pattern of the neighborhood of the consumer.
Bharadwaj said, “If a consumer gets an inflated bill of Rs 1 lakh and based on his consumption pattern, the bill is recast to Rs 7,000, the consumer needs to pay an OTS amount of Rs 7,000 only. If he pays, the entire amount will be adjusted. From the next billing cycle, he will get a fresh bill. If he doesn’t pay the recast amount, he will have to pay the entire amount of Rs1 lakh.”
The scheme is expected to unlock around Rs 2,500 crore of revenue for the Delhi Jal Board.
Water Minister Atishi said, “To avail this scheme, it is required for the consumers to have functional water meters. Those who have dysfunctional meters will have to get the meters replaced. The scheme has been passed by the Delhi Jal Board, and the Urban Development Minister has directed officials to table it before the Cabinet. Once this scheme is passed by the Cabinet, consumers will get recast bills in the next cycle and will have four months to avail this scheme. I am sure this will resolve people’s problems of long-pending water bills.”
