261 per cent Tariff hike in 4.5 years: Miffed Dwarka residents refuse to pay water bills

“In four-and-a half-years, you have increased our rates by 261 per cent without informing us through any government notification,” stated the petition.

The petitioners also questioned the rationale behind charging the same tariff — “available only on your website, without any detail” — for cooperative societies and individual households. They pointed out that societies take away much of the DJB’s burden as they lay pipelines, take care of maintenance, pump water and collect payment from consumers.

They also urged the government to reconsider the concept of slab differences, saying it was not an effective way to encourage people to use less water. It added that the difference between the first and second slab must not be five times (in the October bill, the charge for up to 20 kl is Rs 4.39 per kl; between 20-30 kl, it is Rs 21.97).

“In your present order, middle and upper middle classes, who have small families and spend most of their time outside home, are the biggest beneficiaries (as they end up using less water). Thus, the poor are subsidising the water supply for the rich,” stated the petition.
A DJB official said, “We took over water supply in Dwarka from the DDA around April. Most of the complaints from Dwarka that we have received include arrears which consumers have not paid. Many people have claimed that these have been paid. We are checking with the DDA and if we get information that these arrears were paid, these bills will be brought down.”

Officials also pointed to another reason for residents receiving inflated bills.

“As per our regulations, water connections in properties which are 500 sq m and above are being charged 1.5 times of their bills. This is because these properties do not have rainwater harvesting systems. There are claims by residents that they have built these facilities. If this is proven, they will be charged the normal amount,” the official added.