‘Cut power supply of defaulting Haryana offices’

CHANDIGARH - Power supply to those government offices in Haryana which have defaulted in paying electricity bills will be disconnected, an official said here Wednesday.

Besides private defaulters, electricity connections of those government offices or institutes who are not paying the arrears and fall in the area of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) would be disconnected, said Anurag Agarwal, managing director of DHBVN, a power distribution agency.

We have directed the officials to recover the arrears or disconnect the connections of defaulter government consumers by March 31,” he said.

Agarwal said theft of electricity and non-payment of bills are the major hurdles the state faces in developing the power sector.

We have directed the officials that an FIR (first information report) must be lodged against anyone found involved in electricity theft. There is a provision of three years’ imprisonment and penalty in case of theft of electricity, he said.

As per official records, under the special drive of DHBVN, which was launched in December 2009, a total 12,711 cases of electricity theft were detected in 51,651 raids and penalty of Rs.23 crore was imposed on erring consumers.