Noida Residents Oppose Mandatory Online Electricity Bill Payment Rule, Say 'No Bill, No Payment'

Residents in Noida have strongly objected to the electricity department's new directive that makes online payments mandatory for power bills and bans cheques for all customers.

According to a report by Hindustan Times, the residents stated that the power department's move is 'impractical and exclusionary,' and would cause unnecessary hardship for households, especially to senior citizens and those who are unfamiliar with digital payment methods.

Sanjeev Kumar, general secretary of Sector 51 RWA and senior vice-president of the District Development RWA (DDRWA), Gautam Buddh Nagar, reacted to the development, saying, "We haven’t received electricity bills since January. It is every consumer’s right to get a hard copy whenever a bill is generated. Senior citizens, in particular, are facing difficulties making online payments. The process is not only cumbersome - with OTPs and multiple steps—but also not entirely safe".

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"When the department fails to deliver bills on time, how can it expect people to make timely payments? Our stand is simple - no bill, no payment. If the department cannot ensure delivery of bills, it has no right to penalise consumers or disconnect power," HT quoted Kumar as saying.

The DDRWA federation has demanded the rollback of both the discontinuation of cheque payments and the irregularity in bill delivery, with immediate effect. A letter has been written to the electricity department regarding the demand.

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According to residents, the senior citizens are most adept at the cheque payment option rather than other modes.

HT quoted a resident saying, "Our federation and other community facilities like Barat Ghar, security rooms, and federation offices make payments through cheques signed by three committee members - the president, general secretary, and treasurer. Online payment simply doesn’t work in such cases".