Pay for power bill of up to ₹20,000 by cheque in Panchkula
In the era of Covid-19 more reliance has to be placed on digital platforms, and concerns of senior citizens have to be addressed, ruled the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission
Power bills of up to ₹20,000 will again be payable through cheque in Panchkula, nearly six months after the service was discontinued on December 1, 2019.
The move followed directions by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) while disposing of representations against discontinuing of cheque payments by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN).
“In the era of Covid-19 more and more reliance has to be placed on digital platforms, the concerns of certain sections of society, particularly senior citizens, also need to be addressed. Therefore, a judicious balance has to be struck,” ruled HERC while directing that any amount exceeding ₹5000 shall not be accepted by cash. However, payments of up to ₹20,000 can be made through cheque.
SK Nayar, president, Indian Citizen Forum, Panchkula, had approached HERC, saying UHBVN had abruptly and unilaterally stopped accepting cheques for electricity bills for an amount below ₹10,000.
Disposing of the representation HERC said, “Transaction charges for payment through payment gateway on the website of the Discoms by way of credit card, debit card, net banking and also the transaction charges for payment through point of sale machines at the Discoms counters and e-wallets etc shall be borne by the Discoms subject to a maximum of ₹150.”
UHBVN, while justifying its decision to not accept cheques had cited misuse of the payment facility by industrial consumers who blamed banks for delay in cheque clearance. Dependency on manual work and non-availability of clearing house in rural areas resulted in late credit of revenue in the Nigam’s account, it had said.
“The decision has come a major relief to many senior citizens in Panchkukla,” Nayar said.
