Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced 100% waiver of late-payment charges on water bills in the national capital till November 30, NDTV reported. The waiver came days after the state government announced electricity sops for consumers. The state will go to the polls early next year.

“Today we are announcing a scheme to waive arrears to clean up Delhi Jal Board’s books,” Kejriwal said at a press conference, according to ANI. “Some of these arrears are due to consumers but some are also due to incorrect billing.” The chief minister said the arrears amounted to around Rs 2,500 crore for domestic users. He added that the scheme would help the government recover around Rs 600 crore in arrears.

The chief minister said the government’s move was an open invite to Delhi’s residents “to join the mainstream and install water meters”. “Only those consumers who have installed meters before November 30 will get the benefit of this scheme.”

Kejriwal said households would be entitled to waiver on the principal amount of arrears depending on the category of colonies (graded from A to H) they are located in — 25% for upscale colonies, 50% for middle-income localities and 100% for lower income localities. The scheme is likely to benefit around 2.2 million households.

Kejriwal claimed the water sector was in a bad shape when the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in 2015. “When I was campaigning, people sat outside their homes with water bills in their hands,” he added.

On August 1, Kejriwal had made electricity completely free for residents who consume up to 200 units of power every month. Besides, the Delhi government will provide 50% subsidy to those who consume between 201 units and 401 units of electricity. The chief minister had hailed the launch of the “Free Lifeline Electricity” scheme as a “historic decision”.

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