Pay full outstanding water bill, get waiver on 2% extra charge

If you have not paid your water bill, you can pay the full outstanding amount in the next two months and get a rebate on the 2 per cent additional charges. HT reports.

If you have not paid your water bill, you can pay the full outstanding amount in the next two months and get a rebate on the 2 per cent additional charges.

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The Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is starting an amnesty scheme for two months, starting September 1, so that citizens, companies and government agencies can pay their outstanding water bills.

This 2 per cent extra charge mainly includes late fees.

The civic standing committee passed this proposal on Wednesday. "It is a very good scheme because it will help boost the revenue of the municipal body," said Congress corporator Sameer Desai.

The BMC has outstanding water bills totalling to Rs 978 crore, of which Rs 294 crore is the total additional charges.

The top defaulters are government agencies — Mantralaya, railways, state housing authority, Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking — and some private companies.

The BMC levies an additional 2 per cent charge on any outstanding bill for the months following the delay in paying the water bills. The charge is levied when the bill is not paid within the due date.

"The BMC also owes money to some of these agencies such as electricity bills, so water bills are adjusted against them," said a civic official, requesting anonymity.

The revenue generated by the payments of water bills is generally diverted to better the water distribution system.

The civic standing committee members also suggested that the BMC should give a 15-per cent concession on water bills because it had enforced a 15-per cent water cut for over a year.