DHBVN sets 21-day deadline for consumer grievances

Issued on the directions of managing director Vikram Singh, the SOP aims to strengthen accountability, improve service delivery, and eliminate procedural delays in handling complaints and court-related matters. The SOP will come into effect with immediate effect, officials said.

The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has enforced a stringent Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) mandating zero tolerance for delays in consumer grievance redressal and ensuring time-bound compliance with orders from the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF), the Electricity Ombudsman, and the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC).

DHBVN has directed all officers to adhere strictly to the Standard Operating Procedure (Representative photo)

Issued on the directions of managing director Vikram Singh, the SOP aims to strengthen accountability, improve service delivery, and eliminate procedural delays in handling complaints and court-related matters. The SOP will come into effect with immediate effect, officials said.

A core procedural shift under the framework requires all consumer complaints to be registered exclusively through the DHBVN CGRF IT portal, which will automatically assign cases to the appropriate forum based on financial value. Manual or non-statutory registration processes are completely prohibited to prevent manipulation and delays. “A key feature of the SOP is the mandatory compliance of CGRF, Ombudsman and HERC orders within 21 days. The responsibility for implementation has been clearly fixed at every level from sub-divisional officer (SDO) to executive engineer, superintending engineer and chief engineer with defined timelines at each stage,” Singh stated. The SOP explicitly states that delays on the pretext of seeking legal opinion will not be accepted.

To enforce this, strict punitive measures are outlined for negligence, delay, or non-compliance. Officials violating timelines face disciplinary action, withholding of increments, and recovery of financial losses. “Any penalties or compensation imposed by regulatory bodies or courts will be recovered directly from the erring officers,” Singh emphasized. A structured, multi-tiered review mechanism is instituted for close monitoring: cases will be reviewed weekly at the executive engineer level, fortnightly at the superintending engineer level, monthly at the chief engineer level, and quarterly at the whole-time director (WTD) level.

DHBVN has directed all officers to adhere strictly to the SOP, warning that accountability is personal and non-transferable. This move is designed to restore consumer confidence and align the utility’s functioning with the regulatory expectations set by HERC.