The electricity department of Ghaziabad ordered CIPL to discontinue the use of these meters after residents complained that these were generating inflated bills.
Much to the relief of people dwelling in Crossings Republik, the electricity department of Ghaziabad has ordered Crossings Infrastructure Private Limited (CIPL), the developer of the township, to discontinue the use of prepaid electricity meters.
Residents have alleged that the builder was charging inflated bills, which included both the electricity and the maintenance charges of the society, via this prepaid device. The department’s order came specifically in response to a complaint lodged by Vinay Khandelwal, a resident of Supertech Livingston in Crossings Republik.
Speaking to City Spidey, residents maintained that the problem had been persisting through several years, as the builder did not provide a proper breakdown of the bill. Consequently, the bills did not provide sufficient information regarding the separate heads against which the money was being charged.
Vinay Khandelwal, the complainant, told City Spidey, “I have been running between the district administration and the electricity department to get the problem solved. Finally, after several months of running around, the executive engineer of the electricity department issued the order to CIPL.”
However, residents are sceptical about this order offering any permanent solution. “Many such orders and letters have been issued in the past, but we have not come across any significant change. At times, the developer doesn’t even care to respond,” said Kuldeep Dubey, a resident.
Speaking to City Spidey, Ishwar Tyagi, CEO of CIPL, said that although they had not yet received any letter from the electricity department, they were aware of the issue. “We have called a meeting with the management of the Supertech Livingston society tomorrow, and the issues will be discussed there,” Tyagi added.
When confronted with the question of why CIPL was continuing the practice of combining electricity and maintenance charges via prepaid electricity meters, Tyagi said this was prevalent in most of the city's high-rises.
Speaking to City Spidey, PK Agarwal, executive engineer of the electricity department, said that giving a clear breakdown of the bill would solve most of the problems.
“The breakdown will include various heads such as maintenance charges and electricity charges, and the cost incurred against them. I have also asked for the billing details from the builder,” Agarwal added.
