MANSI BHAMBRI/Dehradun
Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan (UJS) has raised water bills worth Rs 695.15 crore across the State between March 2025 and March 2026, out of which Rs 400.59 crore has been recovered so far, said UJS secretary (Appraisal) Maneesh Semwal.
Speaking on the department’s data (March 2025-March 2026), Semwal said the pending amount stands at Rs 294.55 crore. Of the total billing, Rs 270.69 crore pertains to the year 2025 and Rs 421.02 crore to 2026. According to UJS data as per the said time period, there are a total of 8,62,679 water connections in the State, covering both domestic and non-domestic categories. Of these, 5,48,214 connections are in urban areas and 3,14,465 are in rural areas. Bills for all these connections have been distributed, he said.
Semwal informed that water bills are distributed after every three months. “If a consumer does not pay the bill in the first cycle, a provision is made and that is added to the next bill. If the bill remains unpaid again, a recovery Challan is issued through the authorities concerned. In cases of repeated non-payment, further action is initiated as per rules,” he said.
On the criteria for raising bills, Semwal said that at places where water metres have been installed, billing is done based on actual metre readings. In some urban areas without metres, bills are raised based on house tax slab-based tariff. In rural areas, a fixed rate is applied, he informed.
