Delhi police denies defaulting in DJB water bills; NGT disposes plea

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has disposed of a plea that claimed the city police had not paid water bills to the tune of over Rs 232 crore.

The green panel disposed of the plea after it was informed that the amount had already been paid to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel said since the bill and the cess has already been paid, the matter has become "infructuous".

"The case of the applicant is that if the water bills are paid, the Delhi Jal Board can pay the water cess amount to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, and the said amount can be utilised for restoration of the environment.

"The stand of the Delhi Police and Delhi Jal Board, as well as the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, is that the amount of cess has already been paid to vide the letter dated February 23, 2016, by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to the DPCC. This appears to have been done after filing of this application," the bench said.

The NGT was hearing a plea filed by Delhi resident Sanjay Kumar who had claimed that he had learnt through RTI replies that the Delhi Police had not paid its water bills, amounting to over Rs 232 crore, to the DJB.

The police told the tribunal that they have already paid approximately Rs 65 crore after the filing of this petition and the DJB has till date not given them a separate bill for the consumption of water.

The DJB's counsel said it provides bulk connections to various government departments and if a separate meter needs to be installed, then an application for a fresh connection is needed.

The plea, filed through advocate Gaurav Bansal, had sought directions to the Delhi Police to pay pending water bills, including cess to the Delhi Government so that the amount could be used by the latter for the welfare of the people here.

Earlier, the police had claimed that the DJB was claiming commercial rates for its residential complexes and had no specific record of the water connections installed at various locations.

It had also said the DJB had no proof of the bills and meter readings in respect of their pending claims because the majority of the bills were 8-10 years old.

(With inputs from agencies.)