Senior government officials get zero power bills!
Charanjit Bhullar
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 5
DIG (Ferozepur) used zero units of electricity at his official residence from January to April! At least, the official bill says so despite showing a load of 6.9 kw.

The bill for November-December 2010 showed a usage of half a unit daily. Interestingly, during peak load in summer last year, the (May-June) bill showed a daily usage of only 28 units which worked out to be Rs 390. The DIG’s bill, on average, was less than Rs 600.

The fact that makes these numbers interesting is that the state government pays the office bill while the officer has to pay for power consumption at his official residence. The office bill of the DIG, paid by the government, is Rs 25,000 on average.

The bill details of SSP (Ferozepur) are not different. The consumption of electricity at his official residence from September 2010 has consistently been zero. His daily expenditure on power works out to be less than Rs 2 on average.

The power consumption for May-June 2010 for the SSP residence was only six units. His bill has not exceeded Rs 130 in the recent past.

Information sought under RTI from the Powercom (West Zone) has revealed that there was no one to question the arbitrary behaviour of senior officers. The camp office of the SSP has paid for only eight units in March-April.

The official residences of SDM, Buddhlada, and SDM, Malout, do not have any electricity meters.

A government official said, “It seems that my colleagues are burning lamps and candles at their residences. The power connection of the common man is cut for not paying the bill, but these officers can avail power for an indefinite period without settling their accounts.”

The Talwandi Sabo SDM’s average usage per day is less than half a unit during April-May. His bill showed a consumption of only 30 units during these two months. During January-February, 2010, he ‘consumed’ only 28 units for which he paid Rs 149. The load at his residence is only 1 kw.

The bill for the residence of SDM (Rampura) during May was only Rs 490.

Interestingly, the residences of most officers under question have more than one air-conditioner.

Meanwhile, Powercom has cut the power connection in the office of Inspector, Moga, for non-payment of previous bills worth Rs 31,724. The official residence of Deputy Commissioner (Faridkot) owes Rs 1,21,344 while that of SDM (Faridkot) owes Rs 20,827.