Around a thousand families residing in Sector 37D’s Ramprastha City — a 450-acre township along Dwarka Expressway — were forced to go without power supply for nearly 12 hours on Tuesday after the developer turned off the diesel generator.
For the past four years, the residents of the township have depended upon the power supplied by the generator for 10-12 hours daily. As many as 22 residential societies in the Millennium City don’t have regular power connections and depend on supply from the diesel generators. However, the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority has banned the use of generators, with some exceptions, from October 15 because of the spike in pollution levels.
Ramprastha City’s Atrium Condominium Welfare Association president Pradip Rahi said the developer refused to supply power through the generator without citing any reason. The power went off around 5 a.m., leaving the residents in the lurch. “Most residents are working from home and have important meetings scheduled. The children could not attend their online classes,” said Mr. Rahi.
Meanwhile, the developer did not respond to repeated calls and messages for a comment on the issue.
The residents met the Deputy Commissioner during the day saying they had paid all dues to the developer, including electricity connection charges, but the township did not have a regular connection since 2016. The power from the grid was supplied partially through a temporary connection. The residents demanded that the developer be held accountable for not completing the infrastructure.
The power was restored around 5 p.m. after an intervention by the Department of Town and Country Planning. The DHBVN superintending engineer Manoj Yadav said the power had gone due to a fault in the sub-station. He said the developer was told to submit an affidavit to the EPCA with the schedule to complete electricity infrastructure in the township.
On the rampant violation of the ban on diesel generators in the city, Regional Officer, Haryana State Pollution Control Board, Manesar, Shakti Singh said the officials could not be “omnipresent”.
Haryana Chief Secretary Vijai Vardhan told The Hindu that a letter would be submitted to the EPCA on Wednesday with the detailed plan to supply power through the grid in these areas and seek temporary exemption.
