Haryana to Waive Outstanding Water Charges | 08 Jan 2024

Why in News?

Recently, a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal has decided to waive outstanding water charges, including surcharge and interest, amounting to ₹372.13 crore for rural households in the State.

Key Points

• According to the sources, 28.87 lakh water connection holders will be benefited from this waiver. This does not extend to institutional, commercial, or industrial consumers falling under the Public Health Engineering department.
• 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 includes the general category as well as Scheduled Caste categories.
• The policy on the development of ecotourism has also been approved. The policy emphasises the conservation of Haryana’s diverse landscapes
  • These include two national parks, seven wildlife sanctuaries, two Ramsar sites, two conservation reserves, and five community reserves.
  • It also includes many niche faunal habitat ecosystems, including the old Aravalli hill range, Shivalik hills, rich biodiversity, dense forests, host of water bodies and scenic places.