JJP MLA from Tohana takes on govt over ‘errant’ electricity officials

Geetanjali Gayatri

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 3

The alliance between the Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Haryana didn’t stop Tohana legislator Devender Singh Babli from training his guns on the government for “failing farmers of his area”.

In a video posted on social media on Thursday, the JJP legislator went all out against the Manohar Lal Khattar government for failing to rein in “errant” Power Department officials, who, according to him, had been harassing farmers in the name of fines for unregularised electricity load.

Babli said he received 15 to 17 complaints from farmers every time he visited his segment for two days in a week.

The immediate trigger of the rant was the harassment faced by a farmer from Talwara village of the Tohana constituency on the pretext of undeclared power load.

Babli said, “It seems a gang of extortionists is operating in my area. It picks on farmers and harasses them by imposing unwarranted fines… An official of the department was in the midst of imposing a fine on a farmer on the pretext of installing a 45 horsepower (HP) motor. The reality was the farmer had installed a 40 HP motor. In spite of furnishing bills for the pump and the approval from the Power Department, the official was not convinced. Only when the motor was taken out after about five hours, he backed off as the motor’s capacity was indeed 40 HP. Even then, the official tried to impose a fine on the farmer on the pretext of undeclared load claiming he was drawing more power than approved.”

Babli told The Tribune farmers were unaware of the technicalities of power load. “I have flagged the nexus among power officials and rampant corruption in the department with CM Khattar and his deputy Dushyant Chautala.”

“No action has been taken. Every time I protest, some changes are made on the ground. But overall, the situation remains the same. Officials here (in Tohana) look for newer ways of ‘extorting’ money on the pretext of imposing fines,” Babli said.

“I want a vigilance inquiry against a few officials who have retired and suspension of some in service. A strong message has to be sent out. I wonder who is protecting them and how they are able to wield their clout as nobody from the Chief Minister to Cabinet ministers are able to take action against them,” the legislator claimed, adding “nobody seems to have the authority to rein in power officials”.

Sources in the department said there was a provision which provided for a farmer to apply for upgrading the power load, pay the fees and get the connection regularised.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.