E-Paper
Ludhiana: OTS policy notified to regularise illegal water-sewer connections
In the notification of the OTS policy dated August 25, defaulters have been given three months from the date to submit a nominal amount (less than 10% of the normal fee) to get the connections regularised and pay pending user charges without penalty
In a major relief to defaulters, the local bodies department has notified a one-time settlement (OTS) policy for regularisation of illegal water-sewer connections and payment of pending water-sewer user charges without penalty or interest.
In the notification dated August 25, defaulters have been given three months from the date to submit a nominal amount (less than 10% of the normal fee) to get the connections regularised and pay pending user charges without penalty. After depositing the fee, no other charges like road cutting, connection fees and security will be chargeable.
Under the policy, if users do not get the connections regularised within three months but within six months, they will have to pay a penalty of 100% on the concessional fee being imposed under the OTS. If they still don’t pay, they will have to pay as per the normal rates, along with interest and penalty, and their connection will be disconnected.
Further, no penalty or interest will be charged on principal amount, if the payment of pending user charges is made within three months, while only penalty will be waived off if the amount is paid after three months but within six months. After six months, the user will have to pay both penalty and interest and their connection be disconnected.
MC superintending engineer Rajinder Singh said that the regularisation fee being charged under the OTS policy is less than 10% of the normal fee charged for regularising the connections.
Maor Balkar Sandhu said,”It is a golden opportunity provided by the local bodies department and people should avail of this opportunity in large numbers.”
Over 60K illegal connections in city
As per the officials, it is suspected that there are over 60,000 illegal sewer connections in the city. Apart from this, the defaulters with legal connections have failed to pay over ₹200 crores as user charges.
