Penalty Alert: Pune Citizens Face 1% Monthly Interest on Unpaid Water Bills
Sumit Singh
Pune, 29th December 2023: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is set to impose a penalty of one percent per month on water bill arrears for commercial and certain residential properties in the city. Despite previous negligence in enforcing penalties for non-payment of water bills over the years, the municipal corporation is now urging citizens to settle their outstanding water bills.
According to the Maharashtra Municipal Corporation Act, 1949, Chapter VIII, Rule 41, the PMC holds the authority to levy penal interest of one percent per month on arrears. This punitive measure for recovering overdue payments has been overlooked by the PMC for an extended period.
Citizens are granted a 60-day grace period to clear their arrears, extending until January 31, 2024. Failure to settle the outstanding amounts within this timeframe will result in penal actions taking effect from April 1, 2024.
Approximately 39,000 customers of the municipal corporation collectively owe around Rs 450 crore in water bill dues. However, discrepancies such as double billing and incorrect charges due to faulty meters have inflated this amount. The actual arrears stand at approximately 250 crores. In light of this, the administration has decided to implement penal measures to recover the outstanding sum.
The Municipal Corporation has facilitated billing for all customers, and those who haven’t received their bills are encouraged to collect them from the offices of the Water Supply Department at Swargate, SNDT, and Chathushringi, Pune Cantonment by 31st January 2024.
Nandkishore Jagtap, Head of the Water Supply Department, has appealed to citizens to clear their dues before 31st March 2024 to avoid interest on arrears.
