E-Paper
Water bills: Ludhiana MC turns to awareness camps to encourage clearance of dues
Punjab government’s One-Time Settlement policy, notified on August 25, allows consumers to clear water-sewerage charges without penalty and interest
The fund-starved municipal corporation (MC) has decided to organise camps at ward level to spread awareness about the One-Time Settlement (OTS) policy that allows consumers to clear water-sewerage charges without penalty and interest.
Under the policy, notified by the state government on August 25, 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.
The property owners with houses with area up to 125 square yards are exempted from water-sewerage charges, but they still have to get the connection regularised. Yet, the city has around 1 lakh illegal connections.
According to MC officials, as part of the ward-level camps, pamphlets will be distributed among residents to utilise the opportunity to get their connections regularised and clear the dues without penalty and interest.
Under the policy, the illegal connections can be regularised at less than 10% of the regular fee/penalty charged for the process.
In Ludhiana, dues owed by legal water connection holders have piled up to ₹200 crore over the past few decades. In many cases, the interest imposed is much higher than the principal amount.
Senior deputy mayor Sham Sundar Malhotra said the decision to distribute pamphlets and organise ward-level camps was taken during a meeting held under the chairmanship of mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu on Tuesday evening. “It is a golden opportunity for the public to get the illegal connections regularised at nominal rates and pay the dues without any penalty,” said Malhotra.