43 villas, shops operating on stolen electricity in Gr Noida fined ₹2.78 crore

43 villas and shops and an unauthorised e-rickshaw charging station were fined ₹2.78 crore for stealing electricity in Greater Noida, India.

As many as 43 villas and shops and an unauthorised e-rickshaw charging station that were found stealing electricity in Greater Noida during inspections over the past four days were fined ₹2.78 crore, said officials of Noida Power Company Limited (NPCL).

A laundry facility was found operating using stolen electricity in Birori village and its owner was fined ₹1.5 crore. (HT Photo)

NPCL Manoj Jha said, “Our vigilance team has unearthed several cases of power theft in different parts of Greater Noida. Inspections in Vaidpura village revealed that 43 villas and shops were using stolen electricity.”

Discom officials said a temporary power connection was taken by one Gaurav Kumar in Vaidpura. Yet, he had inserted illegal cables to steal 223 kilowatts of power. A penalty of ₹87 lakh was imposed on Kumar.

In Kulesara, a man named Sudhir was found operating an e-rickshaw charging station where he had arrangements to charge 30 vehicles at a time. During inspections, 17 vehicles were found to be put on charge there. A fine of ₹86 lakh was imposed for stealing 130 kilowatts, said officials.

Officials at NPCL said the vigilance team was manhandled by a few residents opposing the inspections. “A few locals tried to stop the team and manhandled the team. A police complaint will be registered against them,” said Jha.

While no involvement of department employees has been confirmed by NPCL, a few consumers alleged that local residents are involved in illegal activities of tampering and power theft.

On Friday last week, large scale power theft was detected by a team in Birori village where a laundry facility was found operating on stolen electricity. Heavy load equipment such as submersible pumps, ACs, water pumps, industrial washing machines, electric steam, generators, and vacuum cleaners were being operated there. A fine of ₹1.5 crore was imposed in the case, informed officials.

According to NPCL, in December alone, total 660 kilowatts of power theft was detected in parts of Greater Noida and a fine of ₹3.51 crore has been imposed on individuals involved.

Officials said the enforcement will be intensified in the coming days and action will be taken.