A large number of Delhi residents supporting the Aam Aadmi Party protested against incorrect water bills at the AAP headquarters on Sunday, 25 February.
In the backdrop of alleged exorbitant water bills, and joining in the protests, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal urged people to send all seven Lok Sabha candidates of the INDIA alliance from Delhi to Parliament.
“INDIA Alliance will win all seven seats in Delhi. We work for the development and progress of Delhiites. BJP people are busy ruining Delhi; they are busy making Delhiites unhappy. The one who gives relief is greater than the one who kills,” tweeted Delhi CM Kejriwal on X.
(Photo:X/@AamAadmiParty)
Chief Minister Kejriwal addressed a gathering of senior party leaders, workers, and Delhi residents. He said, "Yesterday, I went to Govindpuri in Kalkaji. People have received ridiculous water bills there. Those living in houses as small as 50 square yards received inflated water bills in lakhs of rupees. A house that remained closed during the period received a bill of Rs 3.25 lakh.”
"Obviously, all the bills are wrong. And this whole thing started during the time of COVID. This trend started when meter readers did not go to take readings for several months during the time of COVID. He sat in the office and made up some reading, after which a wrong bill was issued, and interest started being charged on that too. There are nearly 10.30 lakh to 11 lakh families in Delhi who have received wrong bills,” added Kejriwal.
The protest meeting saw AAP National General Secretary Sandeep Pathak, AAP Delhi State Convenor and Cabinet Minister Gopal Rai, Delhi Cabinet Ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP Delhi state unit vice presidents, MLAs, councillors, party workers, and hundreds of citizens in Delhi.
The Delhi Chief Minister assured citizens that their bills would be recast after being corrected and said that the AAP government is the government of the people of Delhi.
One-Time Settlement Scheme: Information
Arvind Kejriwal revealed that the one-time settlement scheme for waiver of water bills for 11 lakh people cannot be fixed overnight, and state urban development minister Saurabh Bharadwaj estimated it would take 80 years to fix the electricity bills.
“So, we made a scheme that in the last one year or five years, if any two of your bills are fine, the bill that you think is correct, and the Delhi Jal Board also finds them correct, then we will calculate its average, multiply it by the period for which you have not paid the bill, and then calculate it again,” said Kejriwal.
“Now, if your average consumption is less than 20,000 litres per month, then your entire bill for 5-7 years will come to zero. Our own belief is that the water bill of almost 95% of the people in Delhi will become zero. It should happen because free electricity and free water are your rights and our policy too,” added Kejriwal.
Kejriwal has introduced one more provision in the OTS scheme for those without a correct water bill in the past five years. The scheme will recast the average bill based on the average bills of 10–15 neighbours, assuming they consume the same amount of water. If the neighbours' average bill is less than 20,000 litres per month, the bill will also become zero.
Kejriwal mentioned that the scheme was passed by the Delhi Jal Board on 12 June, 2023, and is now to be passed by the Cabinet. However, the AAP said that the BJP stalled the scheme through the Lieutenant Governor, and officers were threatened with suspension, framed in fake ED and CBI cases, and jail time.
Further, CM Kejriwal added, "If you choose the INDIA bloc this time, Delhi will have its own defence armour, and nobody can trouble the people then. Once you give these 7 seats to us, I promise you that the incorrectly inflated water bills will be waived off within 15 days of the Lok Sabha Elections, and no LG will be able to do anything to the people of Delhi. I am hereby reiterating that you do not need to pay these faulty bills."
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)