'Several govt entities owe hundreds of crores to DJB'

Several Union government entities housed in the national capital collectively owe the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) hundreds of crores of rupees as part of outstanding dues that have accumulated over a large period of time, DJB has claimed.
Institutions and facilities that are part of the list include the central government offices housed in CGO complex, whose dues stand at a whopping Rs 188 crore and the Northern Railways and Central Public Works Department among others.
Asked about the dues, Delhi Water Minister Kapil Mishra said several reminders have been sent to the parties concerned in the past and the exercise will continue.

Mishra did not give out the total amount of dues.
"But more than action, ultimately it is about collective responsibility. If the situation persists, we will explore other options," he said.
While Northern Railways owe the DJB around Rs 82 crore, CPWD, Cabinet Secretariat, BHEL and BSES Rajdhani Power Limited owe Rs 1.34 crore, Rs 1.1 crore and Rs 1.34 crore respectively.

The due date of payments in most of the cases reads May 5. A senior DJB official said they had not received any fresh payment recently otherwise the list would have been "duly updated".
"The pattern of their payments show that the total dues are a result of fine levied on the accumulated amounts. For example, the late payment surcharge of CGO complex for April itself is Rs 9.4 crore," the official said.

The late payment surcharge for April on Northern Railways is around Rs 4 crore while the same stands around Rs 48 lakh for power discom BRPL.
Their respective billing cycles show that CGO complex' last payment was around Rs 9 lakh in March. Northern Railways' last payment was of a measly Rs 250 for February-March.