The water bills of the official bungalows of the chief minister and 18 other ministers were paid in November 2018 itself, but the process to clear dues was stopped after a "difference" was seen in bills cleared earlier and the ones received in May this year, the state PWD said Monday.
In a statement, the Maharashtra PWD informed that the process to clear dues is being undertaken after tallying them.
The PWD informed that bills are issued on the names of the official bungalows and not on any person, "therefore, it was not right to say bills were kept pending by individuals concerned".
According to media reports, an RTI query has revealed that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) list of water bill defaulters includes the chief ministers official bungalow 'Varsha'.
The due pending against the connection provided at Varsha is Rs 7.44 lakh, according to the BMC.
Apart from this, names of the bungalows occupied by 18 other ministers also figure in the defaulters' list.
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"The water bills of the chief minister and ministers' bungalows were cleared in November 2018 itself. The process of clearing dues, however, was stopped after difference was noticed between bills cleared earlier and the ones received in May 2019. The process to clear the dues is being immediately undertaken after tallying everything," the statement said.
"Besides the official residences of the chief minister and ministers, bills of the Sahyadri Guest House were cleared in November 2018 itself. The remaining dues are being cleared immediately," it said.
It said the process to clear dues of the bungalows is an on-going one, with constant coordination between the PWD and the BMC.
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