150 families without connections live in darkness as plea for power falls on deaf ears

CHENNAI:  J Mosai spent his entire life savings and also borrowed money to build a house near Urapakkam. Though construction was completed two years ago, he still lives in a rented house, paying Rs 5,000 while his total monthly earning is only about Rs 7,000. The reason? No electricity connection.
He is not alone. For the past six years, residents of 150 households in Gokulam Colony at Karanai Puducherry (near Urapakkam) have left no stone unturned to secure electricity.

“These houses were built on Tharisu Nilam (barren land). Spread across 84 acres, the land was allotted to 42 people, in 1942. Everything was good until 2016, after which the officials suddenly stopped giving electricity connections saying the houses are built on poramboke land, which is not the case. Officials have been demanding a bribe of Rs 1 lakh a connection. Only those with existing metres can apply,” said K Karthik, an advocate showing the bond documents and tax receipts the residents have been paying.

The residents claim a few ‘partymen’ have been prejudiced towards them and hence are preventing them from getting the connections. “The panchayat officials have been promising us electricity for the past two years. This was in fact, an election promise,” said Nityanandam, a resident.

In an interim solution, the residents have started sharing connections. There are 450 houses in the area of which 150 do not have power. “A houseowner with an electric connection lends it to a neighbour who does not. But the issue is, those who borrow the connection have to pay the entire electricity bill. For example, I pay Rs 4,500 as rent for a single bedroom house. But my EB bill is never less than Rs 3,000. This is because the owner has an air conditioner,” said G Perumal, a construction worker in the area, showing two electricity wires connecting the houses, from a single connection.

This is how all the residents in the 150 households borrow connections to survive. Some had abandoned their houses after years of requests fell on deaf ears. When TNIE contacted a senior Tangedco official in the area, he initially claimed it was Poramboke land. Upon showing the documents, he changed his stance and said they were in talks with the higher-ups and may provide connections soon. He denied allegations of bribery.

“We haven’t accepted any bribe. The higher officials from the head office said they will consider providing the connections by next month. We have received numerous appeals from the residents and forwarded it to officials concerned,” he said. When contacted, a revenue official said, “Initially, the area came under survey number 387, which is currently forest land. After inspection, it was reclassified into 387/2 and is Tharisu Nilam (barren or wasteland). They are eligible for both patta and electricity.”