Nurpur Residents Face Uncertainty Over Pending Water Bills, Fear Hefty Payments

The residents of Nurpur town are growing increasingly anxious as they have not received their monthly piped water supply bills from the Jal Shakti Department for the past 12 months. This lack of billing has raised concerns among the residents that they will soon be asked to pay a large amount in one go, which could be a significant financial burden for many households.

Prior to this period, consumers in Nurpur would receive manually prepared bills every three to four months. However, over the past year, neither domestic nor commercial consumers have received water bills, leaving them unsure about their outstanding balances. The Jal Shakti Department, formerly known as the Irrigation and Public Health Department, has been increasing water tariffs by 10% every year since 2005.

As a result of the tariff hikes, the monthly charges for a domestic connection have risen from Rs 40 in 2005 to Rs 267 last year (2025-26), and are expected to further increase to Rs 294 this month (2026-27). With the department proposing a 10% hike from April 2025, the monthly charge increased to around Rs 267. Since water bills have not been issued, every domestic consumer now owes around Rs 3,204 for the period from April 2025 to March 2026.

The residents fear that clearing such accumulated dues will be difficult for underprivileged families and daily wage earners. Promod Mahajan, president of the Nurpur Sudhar Sabha, and PD Sahotra, general secretary of the Town Welfare Committee, argue that the continuous tariff hikes, combined with delayed billing, have become a headache for people belonging to economically weaker sections in the urban area.

They accuse the state government of discriminating against urban consumers by not providing any relief in water charges. The residents urge the government to revoke the 2005 notification that mandates an annual hike in water charges and waive the outstanding water bills of the urban consumers, as most of the households are unable to pay such hefty bills likely to be issued in the coming days.

The discrimination with urban consumers contradicts the spirit of the Jal Jeevan Mission, which aims to ensure affordable and accessible piped water connections for every household. Sanjay Thakur, Superintending Engineer, Jal Shakti Department, Nurpur circle, says that the state government had issued a notification on April 2 for water consumers in the jurisdiction of urban local bodies where water meters have been installed and a new water tariff of Rs 14 per kilo litre has been fixed.

In Nurpur, no water meters have been installed, and fixed monthly water charges are being collected from consumers. The local authorities are waiting for new directions from the higher authorities for further action. As the situation unfolds, the residents of Nurpur town are left with uncertainty and financial worries, hoping that the government will take necessary steps to address their concerns and provide them with affordable access to piped water supply.