Panchkula jhuggi dweller runs from pillar to post to get inflated bill of Rs 3.18 lakh rectified

Sanjay Bumbroo

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Panchkula, May 26

An inflated electricity bill of Rs 3.18 lakh has been giving sleepless nights to a jhuggi dweller for the past several months at Gandhi Colony in the Mansa Devi Complex here.

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Mohinder, who has blurry vision in one of his eyes, said his ordeal began in October last year when he received a bill of Rs 3,18,837 while the units consumed were shown as 36,732.82 during the period for which the bill was raised.

Mohinder said he had been running from pillar to post for the past seven months to seek the redressal of his grievance, but to no avail. He said besides taking up the case with the Chief Engineer, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), he had also uploaded his complaint on the UHBVN site for which he had to pay Rs 200. Mohinder said he used to receive an average electricity bill between Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,000 after every two months. He was prompt in paying the bills. He was shocked to receive the bill of Rs 3.18 lakh. When he contacted the officials concerned in this regard, they said he would have to pay the entire amount and the bill would be corrected after checking the records.

He said he was eking out a living by whitewashing houses on a daily-wage basis. As he had blurry vision in one of his eyes, he was unable to get work most of the time. He only had a TV set, a fan, a refrigerator and a bulb at his house. He was making rounds of the electricity office till April this year, but failed to get any resolution.

His wife Rupwati, who works as a housemaid in flats in nearby societies, said she had to work to earn a living for a family of seven, including five children. She, along with her husband, had visited the house of the local MLA to inform him about their grievance, but the security person did not allow them to meet the legislator.

Officialspeak

Executive Engineer Bhupinder Wadhawan said there could be some fault in the billing process or in the electricity meter. The consumer should submit his complaint to his office. They would get the electricity meter checked and get the bill rectified after checking the records.