Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday announced that her government will waive about ₹11,000 crore in late payment surcharge on water bills of domestic customers in the national capital, PTI reported.
She also said that households paying water bill dues by January 31, 2026, will get a 100 per cent late payment surcharge waiver.
"The government is waiving off ₹11,000 surcharge on water bills. The LPSC waiver will be 100 per cent till January 31, 2026. After that, we will not extend this benefit. From February 1 till March 31 next year, the LPSC waiver will be 70 per cent," she said at a press conference, according to the news agency.
Gupta said that the government has also decided to reduce the fee and penalty for converting illegal water connections to legal connections from the current ₹25,000 to ₹1,000 in the domestic category, and in the non-domestic category, charges have been brought down to ₹5,000 from ₹61,000.
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{{/usCountry}}The are about 29 lakh unauthorised water connections in Delhi, according to the chief minister.
Last month, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) announced that it would waive late payment surcharges (LPSC) on all domestic and government water bills, which account for 90% of pending dues, starting next month.
Following the DJB’s 174th board meeting, water minister Parvesh Verma had 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.
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As reported by HT, the initiative is expected to benefit consumers burdened with inflated bills due to compounding interest, while also helping the DJB recover long-pending dues.