Raghubir Bali sees ‘conspiracy’ in his Rs 6.78 lakh electricity bill; CM Sukhu cites PWD dept mistake

Nagrota Bagwan MLA Raghubir Singh Bali on Thursday raised the issue of incorrect information being provided about his inflated electricity bill of Rs 6.78 lakh for 14 months, whereas the actual amount for 32 months was a mere Rs 2.98 lakh.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Vidhan Sabha, he demanded that action be taken against those who furnished this incorrect information about the electricity bill at his residence over the last 14 months.

The information about the 14-month electricity bill details of ministers and all others holding cabinet ranks was furnished in the Vidhan Sabha yesterday.

Bali said that in the last 32 months, the total electricity bill for his residence was Rs 2.98 lakh, and for the last 14 months, it was Rs 1.68 lakh.

"The information about the power bill at my residence for the last 14 months was reflected as Rs 6.78 lakh, which has gone viral on social media. I believe that those who furnished the information were part of a conspiracy," he said.

Taking note of the issue, Speaker Kuldeep Pathnania said that if the information is incorrect, action will be taken if it was done deliberately.

The Speaker said the reply would be corrected, and if they had provided the wrong cumulative bill for Bali's residence, the CM had assured that action would be taken.

Intervening in the issue, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said the Public Works Department (PWD) had added old arrears, resulting in an inflated bill.

"There was a mistake at the level of the PWD department, which pays the bills of the Ministers. The bill for the CM's residence for 14 months was shown as Rs 3.76 lakh along with arrears, though the actual amount is Rs 1.44 lakh," Sukhu said.

The CM said that the amount should be corrected and that if someone had done it intentionally, action would be taken.

"There should be sanctity and seriousness in all the papers laid in the house. Whenever any issue is raised in the house and the documents that are laid in the house, they should be factual," said Bali.

"When I tried to find out the reality, I found that my bill for 14 months was... It is far from the facts, and it has gone viral on social media," he said.

The query was jointly raised by Sudhir Sharma and Kewal Pathania, seeking details of the 14-month electricity bills of all ministers and leaders holding Cabinet ranks.