Inflated bills will be written off if AAP wins all 7 LS seats in Delhi: Kejriwal

The Delhi chief minister said that people of Delhi consider him to be member of their family but go on vote for the BJP and it should change in these elections

Delhi chief minister and the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said that the inflated water bills in the city will be written off within 15 days, if his party emerges victorious on Delhi’s all seven seats in the Lok Sabha, promising to implement the bill waiver scheme that the Delhi government alleges was being held back by the LG-controlled bureaucrats.

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal with other AAP leaders at the party headquarters on DDU Marg in the city on Sunday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

Kejriwal was participating in a protest against the inflated bills and the alleged hurdles being placed in its implementation by the senior officials at the AAP headquarters on Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg in central Delhi. Addressing a gathering, the AAP chief urged the people not to pay the “wrong bills”, and to burn them in front of members of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

“All Lok Sabha MPs in Delhi are from the BJP. They do not raise the voice of people of Delhi in Parliament. Not one of them raises your issues. If seven MPs are from INDIA alliance, they will become a security shield around Delhi. Give me seven seats and no lieutenant governor will be able to act this way. If you give me seven seats in Delhi, I assure you that the bills (inflated) will become zero within 15 days of the Lok Sabha elections.....There is no need to pay these wrong bills. If any BJP member lives near you, ring the bell of his house and burn and throw these bills in front of them.”

The AAP and Congress -- both members of the opposition grouping, INDIA -- have decided to contest four and three seats each respectively in the upcoming general elections.

He added that people of Delhi consider him to be member of their family but go on vote for the BJP in Lok Sabha election and it should change in these elections.

On Feburary 10, The Delhi government on Friday said it will soon float a “one-time settlement scheme” that will allow residents to clear their pending water bills after paying substantially reduced amounts that have been recalculated based on their usage pattern. The planned move will offer relief to over a million consumers who have complained of inflated water bills for several years, especially since the Covid-19 lockdown, when meter readings became erratic.

In his 19-minute speech at the party headquarters, Kejriwal repeatedly asked people not to pay the inflated water bills if they think bills, assuring them that their water connections will not be snapped over non-payment. He alleged that the “BJP hates people of Delhi as they gave the party very few seats in successive assembly elections”. He also listed the projects ranging from development of schools, CCTV camera installation, Mohalla Clinics and others which, he alleged, have stalled by the Centre in the past.

“I know how difficult it has been to run the government in Delhi. I should get a Nobel Prize for this, however, your trust is bigger than the Nobel Prize for me,” he said.

The BJP rejected Kejriwal’s allegations, saying he was misleading the people. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the Delhi chief minister was only diverting public attention from case of corruption against his government. He said that BJP has no problem over settlement of excessive water bills.

“His statement that if Delhiites give him seven Lok Sabha seats, he will settle water bills is a joke as bills have to cleared by the Delhi government where he is already in power,” Sachdeva said.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is running a campaign over the inflated water bills and the Delhi government’s bill waive scheme. The party has alleged that the senior government officials who report to the LG were not putting it up in front of the cabinet.

“This (the irregularity in bills) started during the Covid-19 pandemic when meter readers did not take real readings and wrong bill were generated. On top of it, penalties were imposed. There are around over a million households which have got wrong bills,” Kejriwal said on Saturday while visiting Govindpuri in a party campaign over the issue.

Kejriwal said, “Bills of 11 lakh people cannot be corrected as it will take 80 years. That is why we brought this scheme based on correct bills received in the past and average past consumption. Almost 95% of people will get zero bills after this policy is implemented,” he said during the Govindpuri visit and alleged that the BJP has got the scheme stalled through the LG .

The AAP had called an all party meeting on the issue on Friday where the Congress supported the scheme and said that no party should show any reluctance while backing a plan to provide relief to the people of Delhi.

The BJP did not attend the meeting, saying the AAP was playing politics over the issue.

According to officials of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), around 1.6 million (40%) of their 2.7 million consumers have received incorrect water bills for years. A majority of residents have, as a result, stopped paying these bills entirely, significantly slashing the water utility’s revenues. The Delhi government has received numerous complaints to this effect as well, officials said.

Water minister Atishi has said the scheme will benefit DJB as well.“When a consumer feels their bill is higher than their consumption, they tend not to pay. Currently, 40% consumers are staring at inflated bills and DJB is also facing revenue collection challenges,” said Atishi.