DJB’s Diwali bonus: Full late surcharge waiver, rate cuts, Yamuna clean-up projects

The minister said the surcharge waiver will apply to all bills pending till September 2025, while any bill due from October will attract a 2% surcharge instead of the current 5%.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) will waive late payment surcharges (LPSC) on all domestic and government water bills—charges that account for 90% of pending dues—starting next month, water minister Parvesh Verma announced on Friday, saying the rebate, expected to run into crores, will provide relief to a large segment of consumers.

PWD minsiter Parvesh Verma. (HT Photo)

Following the DJB’s 174th board meeting, Verma said the move would be an early Diwali gift for Delhi residents, available both online and offline at special camps set up across all residential areas. This one-time scheme will be open until the end of January, with an extension until March with reduced rebates. Teams will assist consumers in calculating dues, guide them on availing the waiver, and help clear outstanding payments.

The minister said the surcharge waiver will apply to all bills pending till September 2025, while any bill due from October will attract a 2% surcharge instead of the current 5%.

“The scheme will be launched on an auspicious day early next month. People can pay their bills to get a 100% LPSC waiver until January. For those who pay later, we will extend the scheme for two more months until March, but only a 70% waiver will be provided during the extension,” Verma said.

He added that no such waivers would be offered again, at least during the current government’s tenure. While the present waiver fully covers domestic and government bills, some relief may also be extended to commercial or non-residential categories, the details of which are to be finalised in the coming days.

The initiative is expected to benefit consumers burdened with inflated bills due to compounding interest, while also helping the DJB recover long pending dues. Verma said Delhi’s total pending water bills amount to ₹87,589 crore, of which ₹7,125 crore is the principal and ₹80,463 crore (91%) is interest or LPSC. In the domestic category alone, pending bills total ₹16,068 crore, with ₹5,057 crore as principal and ₹11,069 crore as LPSC.

Additionally, the DJB board decided to permanently reduce compound interest on water bills from 5% to 2%. Verma explained that a monthly bill of ₹100 pending for a year would previously rise to ₹178 with LPSC; under the new rate, it will be ₹130. For a two-month cycle, the bill with interest would drop from ₹134 to ₹115. “This reduced rate is permanent and will encourage timely payment while reducing pendency,” he said.

The board also slashed one-time charges for legalising illegal water connections, from ₹26,570 to ₹1,000 for domestic connections and from ₹61,056 to ₹5,000 for commercial connections. The minister said many illegal connections, particularly in unauthorised colonies, have now been regularised. He said residents, who had laid unauthorised pipelines to access DJB water but hesitated due to high costs, can legalise their connections until March 31.

The minister said the board’s fourth key decision is to train and licence over 1,000 plumbers and technicians to install water meters in homes and other establishments. He added that while there were about 1,000 licensed technicians earlier, their number had later fallen to around 250.

“Later, DJB took over the work, but there are now over a lakh pending applications, causing a loss of around ₹51 crore annually to the department. We will coordinate with polytechnics and ITIs to select, train, and licence technicians, who will then install the meters—a task DJB will no longer handle,” said Verma.

Finally, the DJB approved projects worth ₹3,000 crore, including new decentralised Sewage Treatment Plants (DSTPs) to benefit lakhs and improve treatment of BOD and COD in water. Additional projects worth ₹3,400 crore, aimed at cleaning the Yamuna, will be launched by the home minister on September 30, incorporating these initiatives.

He added that the DJB also approved projects worth ₹3,000 crore, including the installation of new decentralised Sewage Treatment Plants (DSTPs) that will benefit lakhs of residents and improve treatment of BOD and COD in water. Further, projects worth ₹3,400 crore, incorporating these initiatives and aimed at cleaning the Yamuna, will be launched by Home Minister Amit Shah on September 30.