Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal promised on Saturday that if his party wins the upcoming Delhi assembly elections, it will waive all inflated water bills for domestic consumers in the city. Speaking at a press conference, Kejriwal alleged that after his arrest earlier this year, residents began receiving exorbitant water bills running into thousands and even lakhs of rupees.
Kejriwal highlighted that the Delhi government provides 20,000 liters of water per month to each consumer, and approximately 12 lakh families currently receive zero water bills. However, he claimed that after authorities jailed him in March 2024 over alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, they inflated the water bills, charging many people incorrectly. He assured the public that AAP would waive these inflated bills if the party forms the next government. He added that they would reveal the details of the bill-waiving scheme after the elections.
With approximately 2.7 million water consumers registered with the Delhi Jal Board, the primary water supply agency, Kejriwal noted that since the AAP’s victory in the 2015 assembly elections, residents have been receiving 20,000 liters of free water per month. However, following the Covid-19 pandemic, many residents faced inflated water bills due to discrepancies in meter readings, prompting a refusal to pay.
In February 2024, AAP announced a one-time settlement scheme for unpaid water bills, but the government could not implement it due to what Kejriwal described as “bureaucratic tussles” with the elected officials.
In addition to the water bill promise, Kejriwal unveiled a series of welfare initiatives. He proposed raising the Mahila Samman Yojana allowance to ₹2,100 per month for all women, providing free healthcare for senior citizens in both private and government hospitals, and introducing the Pujari Granthi Yojana, under which the government will allocate ₹18,000 per month to Hindu and Sikh priests.
The Election Commission is expected to hold the Delhi assembly elections in February 2024, as the current term will end on February 23.
