100% waiver on water bill late fee in two months: Minister Parvesh Verma

The roll-out will take about two months, as DJB’s revenue system needs major upgrades, said the minister.

Delhi water minister Parvesh Verma on Thursday announced that the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has given in-principle approval to waive 100% of the late payment surcharge (LPSC) on all pending water bills for domestic and government users in the Capital.

Minister Parvesh Verma on Thursday. (Shrikant Singh/ HT PHOTO)

Announcing the decision at a press conference following a DJB board meeting a day earlier, Verma said the amnesty scheme will offer financial relief to lakhs of households struggling with inflated bills. However, the waiver will not apply to commercial users.

The roll-out will take about two months, as DJB’s revenue system needs major upgrades, said the minister. “DJB’s billing software is Oracle-based and very old. If we insert the amnesty feature, it will crash. We are migrating data for 15 lakh (1.5 million) consumers to a cloud-based system. Once that’s done, the waiver will be implemented,” Verma said.

LPSC is calculated daily at 18% per annum on the unpaid base amount. Verma added that the government is also considering scrapping the compound interest model and reducing surcharge rates to curb inflated billing.

Since the surcharge will be fully waived, consumers with older dues—where penalties form a large part of the total—are expected to benefit the most. The time period to avail of the scheme and the detailed guidelines are yet to be announced. On Wednesday, Verma told HT that no further amnesty schemes will be offered for the next five years, as repeated waivers encourage consumers to delay payments in anticipation of future relief.

Pending water bills have been a contentious issue in Delhi, especially during the run-up to last month’s assembly elections. In June 2023, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had announced a one-time settlement for 1.17 million consumers with total dues of ₹5,737 crore. However, it was never implemented due to a standoff between the elected government and the bureaucracy.

DJB, which serves about 2.89 million registered customers, has faced repeated complaints of faulty or inflated billing. In the past 12 years, it has launched five amnesty schemes offering relief ranging from 25% to 100% on principal and surcharge amounts, depending on the colony category and age of the dues.

Wazirabad project revived

The DJB board also revived a ₹3,715 crore plan to upgrade the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and its command area. The project, to be executed with financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), was first cleared in 2013 but remained unawarded until 2020, prompting ADB to withdraw.

“DJB has approved the re-initiation of the Wazirabad project with renewed ADB support,” Verma said, adding that clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs is required. He said the project cost has increased from ₹2,433 crore in 2012 to ₹3,715 crore due to delays under the “previous AAP government”.

The project will cover a 123 sq km catchment area—around 8.3% of Delhi—and benefit over 3.016 million people, or roughly 13% of the city’s population. Areas to be served include Model Town, Burari, Lawrence Road, Punjabi Bagh, Shakur Basti, Shastri Nagar, Avantika, and Pitampura.

“The goal is equitable distribution, coverage of unserved areas, reduction of non-revenue water to 15%, and eventually 24x7 supply,” Verma said.

Hiring to fill key vacancies

To counter a staffing crunch, DJB will recruit engineers through the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). Of the 1,106 sanctioned engineering posts, 422 are vacant, officials said. The utility will also bring in retired PSU officers as consultants. “These consultants will function strictly in an advisory role and hold no financial powers,” Verma said.

The board also cleared ₹121.4 crore for sewerage network expansion and treatment in Sonia Vihar and the Hasanpur group of colonies, expected to benefit around 300,000 residents.

To fast-track water and sewerage projects, DJB will now directly process and implement schemes for agencies such as the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and other land-owning departments. These will no longer require board-level clearance and can be approved at the member level. Officials said the move will prevent delays that have held up projects like the Katputli Colony rehabilitation and LIG/EWS housing in Narela.

Ashok Bhasin, president of the North Delhi Residents Welfare Federation, said the upgrade was overdue but poorly coordinated. “Roads across North Delhi, from North Campus to Roshanara Bagh, have been dug up, leading to dust, water stagnation, and mosquito breeding. The pipelines are over 60 years old and do need replacement, but the lack of planning has made daily life much harder,” he said.