Ludhiana MC sitting tight on waiving penalty on water, sewerage charges

MC’s system still displays dues with penalty and interest, and unwary consumers are clearing dues without utilising the waiver offered by the government

Nearly 10 days after the state government notified the One-Time Settlement (OTS) policy to clear water-sewerage user charges without penalty and interest on August 25, the Ludhiana municipal corporation has failed to implement it here.

MC superintending engineer Rajinder Singh said the process got delayed due to some departmental issues and the server/software had been updated on Friday. (HT Photo)

As a result, MC’s system still displays dues with penalty and interest, and unwary consumers are still clearing dues without utilising the waiver offered by the government.

However, the civic body has started regularising illegal water-sewerage connections at nominal rates by issuing manual receipts. Under the policy, the connections can be regularised at less than 10% of the regular fee/penalty charged for the process.

An MC official, requesting anonymity, said the departmental orders had not been issued to implement the notification due to which changes had not been made in the MC server at Suvidha Kendras.

“The Suvidha Kendra staff cannot accept any amount lower than that displayed in the system, which is still reflecting penalty and interest. Some consumers have returned with complaints after realising these should have been waived,” the official said, adding that the matter had been taken up with higher authorities.

MC superintending engineer Rajinder Singh said the process got delayed due to some departmental issues and the server/software had been updated on Friday.

Under the policy, no penalty or interest will be charged on the principal amount if the dues are cleared within three months, following which only the penalty will be waived for the subsequent three months. After six months, the user will have to pay both penalty and interest on the pending amount, and the connection will also be disconnected.

In Ludhiana, dues of water-sewer user charges defaulters have piled up to a whopping ₹200 crore over the past few decades. In many cases, the interest imposed is much higher than the principal amount.

MC commissioner Pardeep Sabharwal also conducted a meeting with officials of property tax wing and operations and maintenance cell on Friday evening, and directed the officials to expedite recovery of dues.