New Delhi: Delhi govt has extended its late payment surcharge waiver scheme (LPSC) on water bills until Aug 15, 2026, to provide relief to thousands of domestic consumers burdened by long-pending dues inflated by penal interest.The scheme, before the extension announced by water minister Parvesh Verma on Friday, had offered a complete waiver for those clearing their pending principal amount by this Jan 31.
The extension was granted in view of multiple factors, including legacy billing errors, reorganisation of zonal revenue offices and repeated requests from public representatives and Resident Welfare Associations, said Delhi Jal Board. The extension is a final opportunity for consumers to clear their dues without facing penal interests before stricter enforcement begins, Delhi govt said.According to Jal Board data, over 3.3 lakh consumers have already availed themselves of the scheme, resulting in the waiver of nearly Rs 1,500 crore in penal interest, while Rs 430 crore was collected in principal dues until Thursday. Before the launch of the one-time amnesty scheme on Oct 14 last year, domestic consumers owed the govt around Rs 15,000 crore. Verma said the waiver scheme demonstrated that Delhiites were willing to pay their bills when the system was honest and accurate. For years, faulty billing systems and high interest rates had trapped households under massive arrears, discouraging payments, he said, adding that reducing interest rates and correcting billing mechanisms have helped break that cycle.The minister said accountability would now extend to large defaulters as well, stressing that public funds could not remain blocked due to administrative negligence. Unpaid dues from commercial consumers totalled Rs 66,000 crore as on last Oct. Delhi govt establishments owed the board Rs 33,295 crore and Union govt agencies Rs 29,723 crore.Officials said improvements in the billing system and a proposed extension of the scheme to commercial users would boost recoveries and reduce the board’s mounting arrears. The board has around 27 lakh registered consumers. Many of them had raised concerns about inaccurate billing. According to an estimate, nearly 16 lakh of them received inflated bills in the past few years. Many had stopped paying bills, denting the water utility’s revenues. In the Oct-Nov 2022 period, over 10,000 complaints about faulty water bills were received on the board’s portal. The previous AAP govt had promised to bring a one-time settlement scheme last year but could not execute it. AAP’s Delhi unit president Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Friday, “BJP govt’s scheme is a failure as only 8.5% recovery has been made. It copied the old (AAP govt’s) scheme, called the new one a master stroke, but could collect just Rs 430 crore out of Rs 5,057 crore. Govt was left with no option as it couldn’t disconnect water of 12.4 lakh consumers who had dues.”
