Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has announced a major relief for Delhi residents as she said the government would waive off 100% surcharge over late water bill payments till January 31, next year. She said the Delhi government, through this scheme, is waiving off surcharges worth Rs 11,000 crore. Stressing that the BJP is doing what it promised to Delhiites, Gupta added that the scheme will continue till March 2026.

“Jo kaha so kiya…We have been fulfilling the promises we made to the people of Delhi. We had spoken about an amnesty scheme for water bills. We have implemented it today. From tomorrow, the people of Delhi can carry their water bills and go to our Jal Board offices. They can also communicate online,” she told the media after making the announcement on Tuesday.

“Until 31st January 2026, late payment surcharge has been 100% waived off on all pending bills. The scheme will not end after that, it will continue till 31st March and we will continue this rebate at 70% for all our domestic consumers…About Rs 11,000 Crores surcharge is being waived off by Delhi Govt,” the Delhi CM added. 

Penalty on converting illegal water connection reduced

The Delhi CM also announced reduction in the penalty fee for converting the illegal water connection. She said now all domestic consumers who want to regularise unauthorised water connections, can get it done at a penalty of Rs 1000. 

“All commercial connections can get it done at a penalty of Rs 5000…Delhi Govt has come up with an updated revenue management system…” she added.

Earlier, domestic category people had to pay Rs 25,000 for converting illegal water connections to legal, and non-domestic category was charged at Rs 61,000. The same has been cut down to Rs 1,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. This means, the fine has been reduced by 96% for domestic consumers and 92% for non-domestic customers.

CM Rekha Gupta said that there are 29 lakh unauthorised water connections in Delhi.

Outstanding water bills in Delhi

According to officials, the total outstanding amount of pending water bills (including all categories – domestic, government, and commercial) that Delhi Jal Board has to collect is Rs 87,589 crore.

The principal amount is Rs 7,125 crore and the LPSC charge is Rs 80,463 crore, which is 91 per cent of the total bill, they said, reported PTI.

The Delhi CM said that the government’s new model, along with 34 new divisions of water distribution system would benefit the residents at large.