Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ordered the State Electricity Department to crack down on power theft, especially in border areas such as Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Faridkot, Ferozepur etc.
The instructions were issued during the high-level meeting to discuss the new draft industrial policy, where Chief Minister also pointed that the problem was rampant in the border areas and it was necessary to check its proliferation.
Capt Amarinder directed the Departments concerned to involve civil authorities in the enforcement of the law across the State.
Pointing out that line losses in some parts of Tarn Taran were a whopping over 41 per cent, with Sangrur, Amritsar and Malout also badly affected, the Chief Minister said that such losses continued to be high in areas where local protests and political patronage had prevented the department from installation of meters outside the premises of the consumers.
In contrast, areas where the department had been successful in installing the meters, the losses had come down drastically.
Data provided by the department shows that after Tarn Taran (Bhikiwind), with 41.54 per cent line losses, Muktsar (Malout) was the worst hit at 41.38 per cent, followed by Tarn Taran (Patti) at 38.18 per cent during FY17.
Muktsar (Badal) reported 38.08 percent, Sub-Urban Amritsar 37.92 percent and Sub-Urban Amritsar West 32.04 percent. Other high-loss areas included Faridkot, Sangrur, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur.
Spokesperson stated that all border areas were showing huge line losses and the Chief Minister had made it clear to the department that no laxity in this regard would be tolerated.