Gurugram records highest electricity theft among 10 districts: DHBVN

After Gurugram, Faridabad and Palwal registered the second and third-highest amount of penalties, officials informed. DHBVN imposed penalties worth ₹15.01 crore in Faridabad and ₹10.32 crore in Palwal

Gurugram recorded the highest cumulative penalty imposed on consumers for electricity theft across ten districts serviced by the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited (DHBVN), officials said on Friday. According to PC Meena, managing director, DHBVN, the power utility imposed penalties amounting to ₹79.13 crore across ten districts during the first six months (April to September) of the current financial year, of which ₹20.5 crore was from two circles in Gurugram. “DHBVN has already recovered ₹48.08 crore in penalties from violators, which is more than 60% of the total amount,” he said. He added that ₹12.51 crore has been collected from Gurugram violators, accounting for 61% recovery in the district.

Officials said that feeders, where electricity loss has been reported, are being continuously monitored and checked. (Representative image/HT Archive)

After Gurugram, Faridabad and Palwal registered the second and third-highest amount of penalties, officials informed. DHBVN imposed penalties worth ₹15.01 crore in Faridabad and ₹10.32 crore in Palwal. The districts registered recovery rates of 49.28% and 56.28%, with the power utility recovering ₹7.39 crore and ₹5.81 crore from both respectively. Officials said that the total penalty imposed on violators in Palwal is almost equal to the penalty imposed on Circle-I violators in Gurugram. “A cumulative penalty of ₹10.87 crore was imposed on violators in Gurugram’s Circle-I, while those in Circle-II were fined ₹9.65 crore,” a DHBVN officer said.

According to officials, 71,787 connections were checked in the ten districts out of which 20,568 cases of theft came to light. This includes 2,314 cases from Gurugram, 1,772 from Faridabad, 3,056 from Palwal, 1,330 from Narnaul, 1,224 from Rewari, 3,439 from Bhiwani, 2,405 from Hisar, 1,813 from Fatehabad, 910 from Sirsa, and 2,305 from Jind. Meena also said that DHBVN officials are pursuing legal action with police help against violators who have not paid their fines. “We have minimised loss of electricity due to technical faults or transmission glitches by curbing thefts. The distribution corporation is working towards increasing high-tension lines to further prevent thefts,” he said.

Meena added that feeders, where electricity loss has been reported, are being continuously monitored and checked. Officials said that residents can file complaints regarding electricity theft with DHBVN on the service provider’s toll-free number (18001801011), WhatsApp (7027008325), or email ids (hookacrook4dhbvn@dhbvn.org.in, theftinformer@dhbvn.org.in) between 9am to 9pm on working days. The identity of such informers will be kept secret, they added.