Large unpaid bills have piled up, with highest amounts outstanding from State; officials plan One-Time Settlement scheme to recover significant arrears
Several government agencies are turning into defaulters by not paying their Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board bills on time, leading to significant pending amounts. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) alone has 493 connections with a pending amount of `23.14 crore. The Central Government has 194 connections, with `25.70 crore due, while the Defense Department owes `35.99 crore for its 46 connections. The State Government has the highest pending amount, with `287.91 crore outstanding across 658 connections.
Statutory bodies also contribute to the unpaid bills, with 154 connections amounting to `10.48 crore. Additionally, other entities have 4,960 connections with a staggering `480.07 crore yet to be paid. In total, there are 4,97,000 connections with a cumulative pending amount of `663.32 crore.
A senior BWSSB official said, “The BWSSB is considering implementing a One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme, similar to the BBMP model, to collect pending water bills from defaulters. The Board has decided to submit a proposal to the government in this regard.
The OTS scheme will allow defaulters to pay the pending water bills in full, and the interest on the pending amount will be waived.
The proposal will be submitted to the government for approval. The scheme will help the BWSSB to collect the pending amount and improve its revenue.”
Meanwhile, the state government has extended the deadline for the One-Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for property tax defaulters to September 30. Initially launched by the BBMP, the OTS scheme allows property tax defaulters to settle their dues in a single payment, offering a 50% waiver on penalties and a full waiver on interest. The scheme was originally set to end on July 31, but due to a lacklustre response, the deadline has been extended.
BWSSB is considering implementing a One-Time Settlement scheme to collect pending water bills from defaulters
– Official
The OTS scheme targeted 4.11 lakh properties with pending taxes, aiming to collect `956.09 crore. However, during the initial period, only 1.14 lakh properties paid a total of `380 crore in taxes. This leaves 3.04 lakh properties still owing `831.53 crore in unpaid taxes.
The extension comes in response to requests from various organisations and tax defaulters, who urged the BBMP and the government to allow more time for settlement. The BBMP had also submitted a proposal to extend the deadline to September 30, which has now been approved by the government.
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