A Delhi Jal Board (DJB) scheme to waive late payment surcharge (LPSC) on pending domestic water bills, launched last October, has not had the desired effect, senior officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday, citing payment of only ₹586 crore of pending principal dues of ₹5,057 crore—a 11.5% clearance rate—until May 20.Delhi Jal Board struggles to recover pending dues despite extending its water bill relief scheme. (Representative image) (HT_PRINT)According to the water utility’s data, fewer than 30% of consumers with pending bills, 439,000 of around 1.47 million consumers, applied for the scheme since its launch.Even the extension of the deadline from March 31 to August 15 and the inclusion of commercial consumers under the scheme since February have failed to elicit an improved clearance rate, with 8,481 commercial consumers availing of the scheme.An official familiar with the matter, who did not wish to be named, said, “The response remains lukewarm with 400-500 consumers applying for scheme on a daily basis. In the first 20 days of May, 9,731 consumers availed of the scheme. LPSC scheme was expected to end on March 31. From April 1 till May 19, around domestic 25,600 consumers have applied for the waiver. We hope the number will increase in the last month but repeated amnesties and extensions also discourage people from paying bills.”Residents say the main issue remains the lack of resolution on disputed bills, compounded by the absence of camps or door-to-door drives to correct them.Also Read: Delhi records warmest night in May in 14 years amid severe heatwave conditionsAshok Bhasin, president of a federation of North Delhi residents’ welfare federation, said the principal amount of the bill needs to be rectified based on the actual average consumption of the last two to three months. “This principle of average consumption has been followed in the past. DJB should also hold colony-level camps to facilitate the grievance redressal.”Overhaul of billing infraA DJB official said that the waiver on the principal amount is a policy decision that can only be taken by the government, but an overhaul of the billing infra will be undertaken in the coming months.At the time of the launch of the one-time waiver scheme on October 14, 2025, the total outstanding water bills across all categories were ₹87,589 crore. Of this, the principal amount was ₹7,125 crore, with LPSC accounting for ₹80,464 crore. The domestic category accounted for ₹16,068 crore of the total — ₹5,057 crore of principal and ₹11,011 crore of the LPSC.The Delhi Jal Board, which supplies water to around 2.9 million consumers across the national capital, has faced persistent complaints from residents over billing irregularities. Over the past 12 years, it has introduced at least five amnesty schemes offering varying levels of relief on late payment charges and, in some cases, on principal dues (25-100%).Officials said that the waiver scheme is unlikely to be extended beyond August, as repeated extensions disincentivise regular taxpayers.“We are soon launching door-to-door KYC programme, which is likely to bring large number of users in the regular connections fold,” the official said.Since last year, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government has initiated steps to overhaul the DJB, including upgrading digital infrastructure, billing systems and e-KYC of consumers, as well as improving staffing.