Pending bills: Water shocker for residents

Chandigarh : The Water Supply and Sanitation Department has issued pending bills in the range of Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 to a majority of consumers in 139 towns of the state, leaving them in shock. In several cases, the bills are pending for three to five years. This is so because the department did not issue bills all this while.
Legislators have apprised Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu of the situation. He has convened a meeting of officers and MLAs next week.
Sidhu told The Tribune, “In certain towns, bills had not been collected for nine to ten months. There are cases where bills accumulated for a long period. I have asked the officer concerned to prepare a detailed note and give us a correct perspective on the situation. I have also called MLAs to join us in a discussion to thrash out the matter next week. The SAD-BJP government slept over the matter.”
The department is still to work out the exact figure of dues. But going by the population of more than 1.05 crore in 139 towns, the amount will be “definitely very high”.
Sidhu said, “Officers will have to do a lot of explanation over why the bills were not issued for months and, in some cases, years.”