49 government offices, housing complexes owe Delhi Jal Board Rs 297 crore

NEW DELHI: You may be exhorted to pay your water and power bills on time but the government itself has been playing truant. Almost 60 office and housing complexes of the government have outstanding water and power bills of Rs 300 crore.

About 49 office complexes and government housing complexes spread across Delhi have an outstanding water bill of Rs 297.10 crore. This includes Rs 74.89 crore as principal and Rs 222.21 crore as late fee. How long the bills have been pending is indicated by the late payment charges, which are more than the bill amount. According to sources, Delhi Jal Board has threatened to initiate disconnection if the bills are not paid within this month.

The properties are owned by Central Public Works Department (CPWD). In a recent letter to CPWD director-general Abhai Sinha, Delhi Jal Board has said, “Inspite of regular follow up, no payment has been made for these connections. Needless to say that water utility like Delhi Jal Board cannot function smoothly for long if its dues are not cleared by the consumers.”

DJB has suggested that CPWD take advantage of its scheme of 100% waiver of late fee so that it just has to pay Rs 74.89 crore principal amount and Rs 222.21 crore is completely waived off.

Even New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has flagged the outstanding dues to CPWD. The outstanding electricity and water bills amount close to Rs 4 cr. The offices even include Central Secretariat. Like DJB, NDMC has also complained that the issue of non-payment has been taken up regularly but CPWD has not responded.

According to sources, CPWD has decided to sort out the outstanding dues. “In several cases, people living in government accommodation have not paid the water and power dues. So the amount has accumulated over the years,” said a CPWD official.

CPWD director-general has asked the divisions to check the actual outstanding and at least pay the amount due for common areas and give notices to allottees to pay their share. “We have also decided to raise supplementary budget demands if the outstanding dues cannot be met in the current budget. But we are serious about clearing the dues,” said the official.