Water bills cannot be more than 1.5 times of previous month's bill: Delhi Jal Board

New Delhi [India], December 10 : Delhi Minister of Water and Jal Board Chairman Satyendar Jain on Thursday announced that now water bills cannot be more than 1.5 times of the previous month's bill in the national capital.
This decision had been made at a meeting chaired by Satyendar Jain with Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials to strengthen the Revenue Management System of the board.
In an official statement, Jain said, "The DJB has updated its billing system today. Now your bill cannot be more than 1.5 times the previous month. If it exceeds this, an explanation will be provided to the customer, and he or she may file a complaint. The board will be accountable and responsible for any errors.''
He said that there will be an automatic system check to stop billing from the meter readers tablet if consumption variance is more than 50 per cent higher or lower in comparison to the previous bill.
"In such a case, the bill will only be generated by the Zonal Revenue Office, if the meter reading image confirms the consumption. This step will curb the erroneous reading bills that were being generated," the statement said.
Daily random meter reading image audit by the Revenue Officers is one of the salient features of the decision taken by the DJB Chairman in the meeting.
"This step will enhance transparency and keep a check on any discrepancies prevailing in the billing system. This will also lead to closing all the loopholes related to the existing billing system," it added.
In the meeting, it has been said that the department will also strengthen its vigilance system.
"In case of improper images of the meter reading, meter inspectors will visit the site and recheck the images and make sure the images are taken properly by the meter readers. This incorrect image feeding will also call for strict action against the concerned meter readers," the statement further read.