Haryana to waive outstanding water charges, including surcharge and interest, amounting to ₹372.13 crore for rural households

Haryana Cabinet approves waiver of Rs 372.13 crore water charges for rural households, Eco-Tourism policy for conservation of state's landscapes.

Ahead of the Assembly elections due later this year, the Haryana government on Wednesday decided to waive outstanding water charges, including surcharge and interest, amounting to ₹372.13 crore for rural households in the State. The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal here.

An official statement said the Cabinet decision would extend relief to a substantial 28.87 lakh water connection holders in rural areas. However, this waiver does not extend to institutional, commercial, or industrial consumers falling under the Public Health Engineering department, it added.

The Cabinet has approved the waiver of water charges amounting to ₹336.35 crore, accumulated from April 1, 2015, to December 31, 2022, for all types of consumers in villages and rural areas. This encompasses general category as well as Scheduled Caste categories, said the statement. In addition, the Cabinet has accorded approval for the waiver of surcharge and interest totaling ₹37.93 crore on water charges accumulated from April 1, 2015 to December 31, 2023 in villages and rural areas, it added.

The Cabinet also gave its nod to the policy on the development of eco-tourism. The policy emphasises the conservation of Haryana’s diverse landscapes, including two national parks, seven wildlife sanctuaries, two Ramsar sites, two conservation reserves, and five community reserves along with many niche faunal habitat ecosystems, including the old Aravalli hill range, Shivalik hills, rich biodiversity, dense forests, host of water bodies and scenic places, according to the statement.