Wrong info given about inflated power bill of my official residence: Bali

Nagrota Bagwan MLA Raghubir Singh Bali today said that wrong information had been furnished in the Assembly about an inflated Rs 6.78 lakh electricity bill of his residence for 14 months while the actual amount was Rs 1.68 lakh.

Bali raised the issue during Zero Hour in the Vidhan Sabha and demanded action against officials who had furnished the wrong information about the inflated electricity bill of his official residence in the state capital.

The information about the 14 months’ electricity bills of the ministers and all other holding Cabinet ranks was furnished in the Vidhan Sabha yesterday in response to a joint question asked by Dharamsala MLA Sudhir Sharma and Shahpur MLA Kewal Pathania. Bali said that henceforth, he would pay the power bill of his residence from his pocket.

Bali, who is the Chairman of the HP Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), said that since January 2023 (32 months) the actual total electricity bill of his residence was Rs 2.98 lakh and for the past 14 months, it was Rs 1.68 lakh. “The information about the inflated power bill of Rs 6.78 lakh has gone viral on social media,” he added.

Speaker Kuldeep Pathania took note of the issue and said that if the information furnished was incorrect, action would be taken and the House record would be corrected.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the Public Works Department (PWD) had added arrears, resulting in an inflated bill. “There was a mistake at the level of the PWD, which pays the bills of the ministers. The bill of the Chief Minister’s residence for 14 months along with arrears was shown as Rs 3.76 lakh though the actual amount was Rs 1.44 lakh,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that the amount should be corrected and if somebody had done it intentionally, action would be taken against him.

Bali said, “There should be sanctity and seriousness in all papers laid in the House. Whenever any issue is raised in the Assembly, the documents tabled in the House should be factual and authentic.” He added that the information laid in the House was factually wrong but it had gone viral on social media, he added.

‘Not a small mistake, can’t be overlooked’

• Raghubir Singh Bali, while talking to mediapersons later, said that this was not a small mistake that could be overlooked, as people consider any information furnished in the Assembly as totally authentic
• “Till date, I have not taken any benefit from the government. I travel in my own car and government vehicles are used for my staff. I pay the electricity bill of 166 streetlights in my constituency from my personal bank account,” he claimed
• Bali said, “I have donated Rs 11 lakh to the Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, for the rain disaster victims of Seraj but did not publicise it. I have paid Rs 6.90 lakh to the HPTDC from my personal bank account for facilities availed in the past two years.”