Pending water bills amount to Rs 754 crore

Mumbai: Water bills worth Rs 754 crore are pending with state and central government agencies. Both railway agencies, central and western, along with other agencies including Mhada, MbPT and MMRDA are among the BMC’s highest water bill defaulters.

According to civic data, western railway and central railway with arrears of Rs 216.16 crore and Rs 161.87 crore, respectively, are at the top of the defaulters’ list, with other
major non-payers being Mhada (Rs 130.35 crore) and state government offices (Rs 119.80 crore).

Despite sending several reminders and even offering an amnesty scheme, the civic body has failed to collect these bills from them. “We have written over 6,000 letters in the last five years to these agencies asking them to reimburse the water bills. But the letters have failed to yield any result,” said a senior civic official.

“The bills are increasing due to two per cent interest we charge every month on the bill amount. Disputes with several government offices have also resulted in bills remaining pending. The government agencies are refusing to pay the sewerage charge along with water bills, while the BMC is not ready to forego that,” the official said.

A couple of years ago, the civic body implemented the “Abhay Yojana” scheme, under which two per cent pending additional charge was waived off if all water charges, sewerage charges and water meter rent were paid within the stipulated time. In spite of these attempts, arrears for water charges have kept on increasing.

A.K. Tawadia, chief hydraulic engineer, said, “The collection of water bills is a continuous process. We are in constant communication with these agencies, asking them to pay arrears.”