CM Kejriwal discusses "inflated water bill issue" with Govindpuri residents

New Delhi [India], February 24 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said there was a water bill scandal during the COVID-19 period, where readings were allegedly fabricated for months.
Kejriwal claimed that fake readings were taken, resulting in inflated charges for around 11 lakh families across Delhi.
Kejriwal on Saturday visited the Govindpuri area of Delhi and met the residents to discuss this issue.

Addressing reporters, Kejriwal said, "During the Corona period, readings were not taken for many months. They filled out fake readings while sitting in the office. Because of that wrong bills started coming, and the public did not pay the bills. Interest was charged on it, and now the bills have reached lakhs."
He further claimed that a scheme aimed at rectifying the inflated bills has been brought up by the Delhi government, however the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, is creating hindrance and not letting the AAP implement it.
"We have come up with a scheme to correct the old bills of those whose old bills are coming wrong. Our estimate is that with this, 95pc of the bills will become zero," he announced.
Kejriwal urged those receiving incorrect bills to disregard them, saying, "Those who are getting the wrong bills, there is no need to pay, just tear it and throw it away, and I will get it fixed."
Alleging political interference in his efforts to rectify the billing issue, Kejriwal said, "LG belongs to the BJP. BJP people told LG to stop the scheme. This is wrong," Kejriwal claimed.
Earlier, in June 2023, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced the 'One Time Settlement Scheme' for pending water bills of consumers in the national capital.
With approximately 27.6 lakh consumers in Delhi, 11.7 lakh consumers have been burdened with outstanding dues amounting to a total of Rs 5,737 crore, the CMO stated.
Addressing a press conference earlier, CM Kejriwal said, "Today we are announcing a major scheme for the residents of Delhi. I think that the people of Delhi had been waiting for this for several months now. The water bills of some residents have been accumulating for a while now."
He said that there are 27.6 lakh domestic water meters in the city. He said that out of this there are arrears on 11.7 lakh water bills.
"Due to some reason or the other, the people residing in these 11.7 lakh households have refused to pay their bills. The total amount that these bills add up to is Rs 5,737 crore. If we tried to fix all these bills and get into the reasons for the anomaly, then it would take us over 100 years to sort this out. So, it was not possible to do that. Therefore, we have come out with a one-time settlement scheme for such households," he said.