Right to Service panel fines power employee, former SDO

The Haryana Right to Service Commission has imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Commercial Assistant Devi Lal and Rs 3,000 on former Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Dharambir Singh, both of whom were employed at the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) in Tohana, Fatehabad.

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The fine was levied after they failed to provide the applicant with the notified service within the prescribed time and mishandled the appeal without taking action.

An official spokesperson shared details about the case, explaining that Sunil Kumar, Principal of Girls Senior Secondary School, Kanheri, Fatehabad, had lodged a complaint on May 29, 2024, regarding a correction in his NDS category electricity bill. However, Devi Lal closed the case the very next day without conducting any proper investigation.

The spokesperson clarified that the matter was escalated to the First Grievance Redressal Authority (FGRA) and Second Grievance Redressal Authority (SGRA), but no resolution was achieved. Subsequently, the complainant filed an appeal with the commission on December 25, 2024.

Sunil Kumar informed the commission that a meter had been installed on February 25, 2021, but he had not received a bill for over two years, until October 2023. In November and December 2023, he received bills which were paid, but in January 2024, he was issued an unusually high bill, prompting him to lodge a complaint.

After a review of the facts, the commission determined that Devi Lal was at fault for prematurely closing the complaint. Similarly, Dharambir Singh was found guilty of neglecting to take appropriate action to resolve the issue.

His justification—stating that billing had not occurred from August 2021 to June 2023 due to data migration from Hartron to the R-APDRP system—was deemed unacceptable.

Additionally, the commission has directed the current XEN, Krishna Kumar, to issue a revised bill within one week and submit a report to the commission by January 31.