Correct inflated water bills in 7 days, Mayor tells OCWL

Nagpur: Even after deducting 7 crore from Orange City Water Ltd (OCWL) payments as penalty, the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) is still grappling with a massive excess billing crisis affecting over 25,000 consumers across the city.The penalty, imposed at 3.5 crore per month for non-compliance, came after municipal commissioner Abhijeet Chaudhari convened a meeting in November last year, directing OCWL to correct inflated bills.
Despite the directives, corrective action allegedly remained slow, forcing the water works department to initiate financial deductions. Superintending engineer Shweta Banerjee confirmed that 7 crore has already been recovered from the operator.TOI on Friday published that officials of OCWL and the Nagpur Municipal Corporation's (NMC) water works department conceded on Wednesday that 5.6% of Nagpur's total water consumers, 25,375 households, were issued excess bills. The disclosure was made during a high-level review meeting chaired by mayor Neeta Thakre, where mounting complaints over inflated water charges dominated discussions. Thakre directed OCWL to immediately correct excess bills within 7 days and ensure that no consumer is harassed over disputed amounts. She also ordered swift redressal of water complaints.The issue resurfaced sharply in a stormy meeting chaired by Thakre, where BJP MLA Pravin Datke confronted officials with glaring discrepancies. Datke, who had raised the matter consistently, gave the mayor a 1-week ultimatum to act decisively against OCWL, warning that he would lock NMC's Satranjipura, Gandhibagh and Dhantoli zonal offices if corrective steps were not visible.Tempers flared as citizens narrated instances of monthly bills jumping from 400-500 to as high as 5,590 or even 9,234. In a case discussed during the meeting, a consumer paying 254 monthly suddenly received a bill exceeding 5,500. Residents alleged that complaints were either ignored or met with vague responses citing "meter not readable" or "meter theft".A heated exchange revolved around the NMC's monitoring mechanism for attending complaints related to excess billing. Elected representatives questioned whether any system existed to ensure complaints were addressed and grievances resolved. "Do you even have a system? Yes or no?" Datke demanded, as officials struggled to respond. The controversy deepened over meter replacement. As per contract clauses, meters are to be replaced every five years. Several corporators alleged that thousands of old or faulty meters were never changed despite contractual obligations and annual expenditure provisions. Citizens questioned who bears the responsibility when meters installed outside homes are stolen or damaged.Banerjee stated that proposals were sent for meter replacement and billing corrections, and that in certain disputed cases, relief up to 50% was being examined.