24 hr power shut down in Greater Noida villages over Rs 193 lakh dues

GREATER NOIDA: In a major action by power department, power supply to Bhatta Parsaul and Gunpura villages in Greater Noida were snapped for nearly 24 hours (since Wednesday evening 6 pm to Thursday 6 pm) over Rs 193 lakh unpaid dues from 960 consumers from both villages.
While consumers refuse metered connection, officials in the power department are unwilling to relent. Currently power is supplied to these villages at a subsidised rate of Rs 3 per unit i.e. a fixed charge of Rs 300 per kW per month. Metered connection (which will tabulate actual consumption and considered mandatory to implement government policy of extending 18 hour power supply in rural areas to be increased to 24 hours soon) is resisted by consumers of these villages who sat on daylong dharna (sit-in protest) at the Dankaur office of the power department.

According to A K Singh, superintending engineer Electricity Urban Distribution Circle (EUDC) division 2 and 3 under Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) both villages of Bhatta Parsaul and Gunpura have refused any attempt to go for metered connection. “We cannot supply power without payment for actual consumption. The government is trying to provide power at cheap rate to rural areas with the provision of 10 % cash payment for a new connection. That too we have provided the facility to be paid in instalments. Yet these two villages refuse to take metered connection. In Bhatta Parsaul there are 850 consumers on whom Rs 138 lakhs is due whereas in Gunpura village there are 110 consumers on whom Rs 55 lakhs is due. Since they refuse to pay the dues and also do not allow meter connection we have disconnected the supply of these two villages since Wednesday 6 pm,” said Singh who’s in charge of Greater Noida, Dadri and Jewar.

Singh adds while majority consumers of these two villages are farmers who have resisted metered connection, the power department will not resume supply till they agree to clear their dues and go for metered connection. “Basically the consumers of these areas have resisted implementation of government policies. We will however continue to disconnect supply to them till they agree to pay their dues,” Singh told TOI.

Meanwhile, by early evening, talks were held between Singh, Anjani Kumar SDM Sadar, P K Singh PVVNL executive engineer (Greater Noida) and farmers’ union representatives at Dankaur substation whereby it was mutually agreed that the latter would agree to clear their dues and will take metered connection. For this, the power department will hold camps next week before the festival of Holi in the two villages and initiate the process of dues’ clearance as well as meter connections. “We resumed supply to the village today evening and will hold camps next week to collect dues and initiate meter connection. We will also look into the problems of rusting poles, loose cables and wires in the villages as apprised to us by the farmers,” Singh told TOI.