Sir,
A large section of population of J&K is on roads against the PDD. Some are opposing installation of Smart Meters and some against alleged inflated bills and others against pre paid payment system. Even the opposition parties have found it an opportunity to poke into the issue to gain political mileage.
There is no denying that people should pay their bills and installation of Smart Meters is nothing but to plug illegal usage that allegedly had been encouraged by the field staff to stuff their pockets.
Notwithstanding these fact , the masses have genuine concerns as the UT is pushing forward reforms in the sector without upgrading the system. As a result people have been subjected to confusion. Firstly there is no urgency in switching to the Pre Paid Mode without ensuring foolproof system. The consumers are being forced to install apps or register in the system for the procedure. But the department is yet to understand the system itself. I would like to quote some examples that reflect the genuine concerns of the consumers. There is variation in the bills that were being provided by the field staff and the bills uploaded on JK Bank app for deposition in the bank. Again the bills as reflected on the Bill Suhuliyat and JK Bank are in variation. Consumes are in a fix to know the correct amount. Even the payments made through JK Bank App are not reflected in the PDD system. It is not exaggeration but fact that even the bill sent by Bill Suhuliyat and the amount reflected on same system are in variation.
To conclude, the Department shall first ensure foolproof system before initiating reforms without doing the ground work.
S M Pandit
Jammu
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