Vigilance team of Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company ltd (CSPDCl) has issued additional payment bill of Rs1.40 crore against consumers who found guilty of indulging in power theft and other irregularities.
The penalty was slapped by the Vigilance Department of the company during an intensive state-wide drive launched to check power theft.
Managing Director of CSPDCl, Subodh Kumar Singh had issued directions to the flying squad under Vigilance Department to conduct surprise inspection at commercial establishments and different categories of
consumers.
As many as 15 vigilance cells, one central squad and one high tension (HT) squad have been constituted under the Vigilance Department for the purpose.
Chief Vigilance Officer of the company Bhim Singh said that during the past fortnight, the officers of Vigilance Department have inspected 2930 electricity connections and detected power theft in 169 and other irregularities in
366 connections.
Action was taken immediately against the consumers found guilty of electricity theft, FIR and the cases have been forwarded to special courts. The Department confiscated properties of the consumers found guilty and it was advised to the consumers to get a valid electricity
connection.
Among the cases of electricity theft, the officers detected additional resistance attached in the internal circuit of 12 electricity meters. This was confirmed in laboratory testing of the meters. The consumers found guilty included Nand Ram and laxmi Sachdev of Shyam nagar, Telibandha (Raipur), Mohd Asif, Mohd Anees and Gulam Bhai of Kanker dstrict, Arun Jain, Baby Mumtaz (double connection), Kuldeep Kaur (double connection), Jitendra Singh and Dilbagh Singh, all of Rajnandgaon
district.
Singh said that power theft is detected with the help of advance technique either it is direct hooking from low tension line, by a loop circuit before meter or by use of external circuit or resistance inside the meter.
In these cases, a consumer is booked for power theft and a penalty at the rate of 2.5 times of the electricity consumption is realised from him. The consumer has to face legal action. A provision of imprisonment along with monetary punishment. Singh appealed to the consumers to not get indulged in any such activities.