The Punjab Cabinet on Monday decided to waive water bill arrears of consumers in urban and rural areas, a relief announced keeping an eye on the assembly polls beginning next year.
The decision will put an additional burden of about Rs 1,800 crore on the state.
In addition, the Cabinet has decided to fix the water tariff at Rs 50 per month.
"We are waiving water bill arrears of Rs 700 crore of all cities," Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said at a press conference after chairing a Cabinet meeting.
Mr Channi said the Cabinet has decided that the state government would pay the electricity bills of water supply tubewells.
"In villages, the panchayats'' pending water bills will also be waived," he said, pointing out that these would amount to nearly Rs 1,168 crore.
The Cabinet has also decided to conduct appointments on a regular basis for group-D posts which comprises peons, drivers etc.
Congress' Charanjit Channi, Mukesh Agnihotri Named Observers For J&K Polls Fuel Price Hike In Punjab After Value Added Tax Increases On Petrol, Diesel After BJP Attack Over C Channi Comment On Amritpal Singh, Congress Says... 3 Spectators At Air Force's Chennai Airshow Die CCTV Footage Shows Man On Bicycle Before He Killed Bengal Schoolgirl "Sit Quiet": Bhavish Aggarwal As Kunal Kamra Flags Ola EV Issue Chinese Hackers Breached US Court Wiretap Systems: Report AAP Leaders File Complaint Against Vijender Gupta Over Assault On Marshal Flights From All Iran's Airports Cancelled Until Tomorrow Morning: Report Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.