New Delhi: After launching an amnesty scheme for domestic consumers to resolve long-pending water billing disputes and recover its lost revenues, Delhi Jal Board is planning a one-time waiver for its commercial users in Jan. The scheme will be offer a 90% waiver on arrears in the first phase, followed by a 70% waiver.DJB has been grappling with an extensive backlog of unpaid bills, largely stemming from inflated assessments over the past few years. According to DJB, nearly 16 lakh of its 27 lakh registered consumers had received unusually high bills mainly during Covid-19. Thousands of commercial consumers, forming a major chunk of DJB’s high-revenue customers, halted payments altogether. Shops, hotels, markets, offices and small industrial units come under this category.“This will be a one-time amnesty, like the domestic one,” an official said. “Past arrears and late payment surcharges added to the current bills are one of the main reasons behind high bills.” Sources indicate that an awareness campaign will be initiated once the scheme is final. Once the amnesty period is over, DJB is likely to send disconnection warnings and enhance enforcement drives.In Oct, domestic consumers were offered a total waiver on the late payment surcharge if it’s paid by Jan 31, 2026, and a 70% waiver for payments made between Feb 1 and March 31.
