Latest news with #HiteshiFoundation
Time of India
18-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Pkl residents raise hike in power charges issue with UHBVN MD
Panchkula: A steep rise in electricity charges in May 2025 bills issued by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) triggered widespread outrage among residents of Panchkula. Concerned over the financial burden on common citizens, resident welfare bodies took up the matter with UHBVN. Hiteshi Foundation, a local social welfare organisation, submitted a memorandum to UHBVN managing director Ashok Kumar Meena, demanding an immediate rollback of the revised tariffs. During the meeting, Hiteshi Foundation chairman Bharat Hiteshi presented a personal example from his electricity bill. He pointed out that his April bill was Rs 922, while the May bill under the new rates skyrocketed to Rs 4,430 — nearly a fourfold increase. "This kind of sudden and steep hike is neither fair nor justifiable," he said. He criticised the new billing system, which imposes a flat rate of Rs 6.50 per unit for consumers with a load above 5 kW, replacing the earlier slab-based system that benefited all users equitably. "This shift has caused electricity bills to double or triple for many middle-class families, delivering a major financial blow," he added. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch xu hướng AUD/USD? IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Ashok Meena acknowledged the concerns, but explained that the UHBVN was running in losses for years with the deficit currently standing at Rs 4,500 crore. He stated that the new charges, effective April 1, will help recover about Rs 3,000 crore.
Time of India
04-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
HSVP should provide facility to deposit water bills in banks: Panchkula residents' body
1 2 3 Panchkula: City residents are struggling to pay their water bills after Haryana Shehri Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) discontinued bank payment facilities a month ago. A delegation from Hiteshi Foundation, a social organisation led by Bharat Hiteshi, met HSVP administrator Sachin Gupta to inform him of the difficulties being faced. Hiteshi explained that under the tie-up arrangement between HSVP and various banks, water consumers could deposit their water bills in these banks. However, since last month, HSVP stopped this facility, forcing consumers across Panchkula to deposit their water bills only at Sector 8 and Sector 10 offices of HSVP. Cash is not accepted at these offices; payments can only be made through ATM, debit-credit card, Google Pay, or Paytm. Hiteshi Foundation's chief mentor SK Sharma and patron BM Kaushik expressed their frustration, noting that many senior citizens in Panchkula used to easily deposit their water bills in cash at banks in their respective sectors. Now, citizens from Sector 1 to Sector 21 must go to the Sector 8 office, and residents of MDC, Sector 20, and Ghaggar Park must travel to Sector 10 for water bill payments. The foundation's chief advisor, professor BK Gupta, organising secretary Subhash Sharma, secretary Premlal Gupta, and publicity secretary Suraj Prakash Vij said senior citizens are not fully aware of the complex process of online payment, and it is more convenient for them to deposit cash in the bank. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Descubra ofertas de voos imperdíveis Voos | Anúncios de Pesquisa Saiba Mais Undo They also mentioned that due to increasing cybercrimes, elderly people are reluctant to risk their hard-earned money by making online payments. KYC Will Be Mandatory In a conversation with Hiteshi Foundation officials, Haryana state nodal officer of HSVP, NK Payal, said all 34,000 consumers in Panchkula will need to go online on the HSVP website to fill in their property and personal details and link their ID before paying their water bill. This process will only need to be done once, after which payments can be made normally through online methods, debit-credit card, Google Pay, or Paytm. Payal mentioned that currently, about Rs 40 crore of arrears are pending from a total of 160,000 water consumers in Haryana. House owners are selling their properties without depositing the bill, leading to a continuous increase in arrears. To curb this default amount, HSVP must implement this one-time KYC process.
