All the offices of operation and maintenance department of Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company will remain open on Sunday also. This decision was taken by the company so that consumers may not face any problem in making payment of their electricity bills and in getting benefit of the scheme launched in the State, as the last date of the current financial year ends on Sunday.
According to the directives issued by the managing director of the Power Distribution Company, Subodh Kumar Singh, all the regional offices and distribution centres in the State would remain open on Sunday. like working days, work like payment of bills, issuance of duplicate bills etc of various categories of consumers would be done on holiday also.
In view of the financial ending, the Power Distribution Company is taking stern action against the small and big defaulters and power pilferers and so far, more than Rs22 crore has been recovered from them. The MD has given instructions to the officers to take strict actions against the defaulters in the remaining two days of the financial year.
According to official sources, for taking strict action against the power pilferers in the State, a thorough investigation is going on in the areas which were mostly affected with electricity theft. Bilaspur, Janjgir-Chappa, Mahasamund, Balodabazar and Raigarh had specially been marked for power theft. Besides, in Durg and Bhilai, by installing resistance on electronic meters most of the power theft cases have been detected.
In such areas, teams of flying squads formed under the chief vigilance officer were taking action and conducting raids. Singh said, under Section 135 of the Electricity Act cases were being registered against the electricity thieves in the Special Electricity Court. Electricity theft is a punishable crime and there is provision in the Act for fine and a maximum three years’ jail also to the consumers who are engaged in the power theft, he added.
The power distribution company, in order to put a curb on power pilferage, along with revenue recovery, had sped up installation of automatic meter reading machines at the high tension connection holders, he added.
