4,747 power theft cases in F'bad, up 18%; Rs 35cr penalty imposed

Bijendra Ahlawat

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Faridabad, April 19

The authorities in Faridabad circle detected 4,747 cases of electricity theft during 2022-23 and imposed a penalty of Rs 34.99 crore. The circle has around a total of around 6.55 lakh consumers.

The incidence of stealing power has gone up by nearly 18 per cent as 4,001 cases were detected in 2021-22, said sources in the department. While a penalty of Rs 30.02 crore was imposed last year, the department could realise only around 60 per cent of the fine from the offenders, they revealed. During 2020-21, a total of 5,573 cases of power thefts were detected and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) had imposed a penalty of Rs 34.57 crore, the highest in the past three years.

A majority of the cases were reported from densely populated residential colonies and slum areas like SGM Nagar, Dabua Colony, Auto Pin Colony, Parvatiya Colony, Mujesar, Indira Nagar, Prem Nagar, Surya Vihar, Shiv Durga Vihar, Tilpat, Palla, AC Nagar, Jeevan Nagar, Jawahar Colony, Subhash Colony, Adarsh colony and rented accommodations of factory workers and labourers falling in the civic limits, it is claimed.

The department imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore alone on account of power theft in localities adjacent to Mewla Maharajpur village in the past about five months, said an official, who admitted that power theft was perhaps one of the major factors of 8 per cent line loss in this area.

The involvement of the employees could not be ruled out, a source said. Earlier in 2020, an interstate power theft racket was unearthed where power was found to be supplied to farmhouses across the Yamuna in UP.

A DHBVN official said technical and distribution losses reduced significantly by technological intervention and theft detection. “A multipronged approach which includes technical augmentation of the distribution network have reduced the losses. With thefts curbed by increasing HT lines, the Intensive detection drive has yielded positive results,” he added.

Cases adding to transmission losses

Year Theft Cases Penalty

2022-23 4,747 Rs 34.99 cr

2021-22 4,001 Rs 30.02 cr

2020-21 5,573 Rs 34.57 cr