Five Jhajjar villages not to pay power bills

Ravinder Saini

Tribune News Service

Jhajjar, September 26

Residents of five villages—Mundakhera, Dariyapur, Lagarpur, Devarkhana and Lohat villages— in the district have decided not to pay power bills until their old electricity meters are re-installed in their houses.

The decision was taken at a joint panchayat of the villages held in Mundakhera village last evening. The panchayat presided over by Dharamveer Singh also expressed resentment against the state government for not accepting their demand for excluding the five villages from ‘Mahra Gaon,Jagmag Gaon’ scheme.

“A 15-day ultimatum was served on the power corporation for re-installation of old power meters in the houses at all five villages but the corporation failed to do so. Hence we have now resolved not to pay electricity bills until old meters are reinstalled in the houses as the villagers don’t want the scheme,” Dharamveer told ‘The Tribune’. He said power officials who had come to Mundakhera village today to distribute electricity bills were sent back.

Mundakhera, Lohat, Dewarkhana, Lagarpur and Dariyapur villages have been selected for the ‘Mahra Gaon,Jagmag Gaon’ scheme. More than 80 per cent work of installing new electricity meters has been completed in Lohat and Devarkhana villages while the work is in the first phase in the remaining villages as residents are not letting power officials install new meters.

Ramesh, sarpanch of Mundakhera village, said electricity bills had shot up steeply since new digital meters were installed outside houses in the villages.