Don’t have your old water bill receipts then get ready to pay heavy dues
The Noida Jal department has been taking stock of arrears due from residents and is imposing fines on dues that have not been paid. Residents will also face the heat if they are not able to produce past bills, if required by the department.
Recently, Noida Authority launched the web portal “Noida Jal”. At the time of its launch, the Authority claimed that consumers could resolve their water billing queries and obtain information regarding payment records. However, that has not been of much help to the residents as they as still in the dark about the heavy dues that have been imposed on them.
“I was regularly paying water bills. Recently, I could not pay my dues as I was hospitalized for a month. After returning from hospital, I came to know about the Noida Jal portal. I was shocked to find that a fine of Rs 16,000 had been imposed on me even though I had made regular payments. When I contacted the officials, they asked me to produce payment receipts. Thankfully, I had filed away all the receipts since 1990, when the flat was allotted to me. Jal has now removed all my dues,” said Batra.
Jal officials, however, differ from the viewpoint of the residents. “To prove bill payments, customers are required to produce bill receipts. If the customer does not have bill receipts, then we look at the bank statement that has all bill payment details. We are resolving all disputed cases on the spot,” said Atul Kumar, project engineer (Jal).
Even as the Jal department is gearing up to collect past dues, residents allege that water bills were sent very erratically to them. Also, the criteria of charging for water consumption, as well as categorization of customers, have not been well defined.
Other residents who came to know about the heavy dues have a similar tale to tell. “Jal has never sent out any notices to customers. We have been writing to Noida Authority to improve the working style of charging bills, but to no avail. Jal has no right to charge heavy bills with arrears with any prior notice and meter recording. Unfortunately, the Authority has failed to take any steps in this regard,” said NP Singh, president, Federation of Noida Residents’ Welfare Association.
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