PANAJI
Consumers who heeded the advice of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant asking them not to pay their exhorbitant water bills issued in December last as there were technical errors in their computation, are now paying a price.
Bills issued this month include the interest amount on the arrears of the unpaid previous bills, many of which should have otherwise been zero bills after the government's decision to give 16,000 litres of water free.
One such bill issued to a consumer in the capital city's Altinho area on January 20 has a Rs 273/- component of interest amount on the previous December month bill's arrears of Rs 3,397.
A day after Christmas last year, Sawant had admitted that several consumers across the State had received exorbitant water bills.
He had attributed it to a technical error and also mistakes committed by some engineers and officers of the Public Works Department (PWD).
Sawant also said that an inquiry has been instituted and consumers will get fresh bills in the next billing cycle with all the rectifications made even as he advised the public not to pay the erroneous bills.
He had also said that those who had already paid the exhorbitant bills will be compensated either with a refund or credits in the next bill.
It seems, none of it has been taken heed of by the PWD officials.
