'Smart Meters' To Revamp Delhi Jal Board's Working, What Are They? Brace For No More Inflated Bills, Incorrect Readings

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Ever since water minister Parvesh Verma announced that Delhi government will soon launch a“major bill waiver scheme” water bills are in the spotlight. As per the recent development, Rekha Gupta-led government of the Union Territory plans to revamp city's water distribution and billing systems soon through the installation of smart meters across the city, The Times of India reported citing sources.

Cabinet minister Parvesh Verma directed the DJB to promptly overhaul the system. However, the company responsible for billing of DJB will reportedly not take up any further government projects and the water minister intends to engage a new company after the system is upgraded, TOI reported.

To address financial inefficiencies and concerning issues such as inflated bills, incorrect and outdated readings, these measures are being taken to improve Delhi Jal Board's operations. According to officials, the current practice of meter readers has proven to be ineffective. Across 41 Delhi Jal Board zones, nearly 1,000 meter readers manage nearly 26.5 lakh water consumers.

What is 'smart meter'?

A game-changer in the field of water management, smart meter refers to a technologically advanced metering infrastructure used to measure and record water usage accurately and in real-time. In contrast to traditional water meters, where manual reading is required and is prone to human error, smart meters provide automated readings. These readings are transmitted to utility companies for billing and analysis purposes.

When will this new system be implemented?

As per the report, the new system would set off once proposed scheme to address the issue of inflated water bills through a bill waiver is implemented. The scheme aims to reduce pending“domestic bills by up to 90%”.

Currently, water consumption up to 20,000 litres a month per household is free, a subsidy continued by BJP government which was introduced by the previous government AAP.

Benefits of smart meter

Through this new metering system, the role of support agents will be eliminated along with touts who allegedly accept bribes to clear bills. Furthermore, the payment process will be made easier for consumers.

Currently, the billing system does not show a breakup of the old bills which will be included with implementation of smart meter.

“The billing system is also going to be updated, software for this is being developed and there are some technical issues that are being worked out,” HT quoted Parvesh Verma as saying when BJP completed first 100 days in power in the UT.

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