The state government has said that the Delhi Jal Board, headed by deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, has decided to re-start its scheme for the waiver of the late payment surcharge on pending water bills for consumers who clear their arrears by December 31 on Monday.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, “Now you can pay your old bills without worrying about the late fee.”The scheme will be applicable on all pending bills till September 30 and will remain operative till March 31, 2023.An official of DJB said, “While the consumers who clear their outstanding arrears till December 31 will get 100% waiver on late payment surcharge, those who opt to make payments on outstanding arrears during the period of January 1, 2023 till March 31, 2023 will be provided 75% waiver.”This will be the fifth such scheme announced by the DJB over the last 10 years.The same official also said, “With 5% late fee on monthly bills, more than 60% on outstanding amount gets increased only on account of late payment surcharge during one financial year.” A second DJB official stated that the last waiver scheme was operational till March 31 last year and the board currently has accumulated water bill amounts worth ₹27,628.79 crore.
