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Derailing Saubhagya: Slum-dwellers being denied power connections against rules?
Many UP Power Corporation Ltd engineers are apparently derailing the government’s ambitious Saubhagya Yojana by allegedly denying electricity connections to slum-dwellers who are unable to furnish an ownership proof or consent letter from property owners.
Many UP Power Corporation Ltd (UPPCL) engineers are apparently derailing the government’s ambitious Saubhagya Yojana by allegedly denying electricity connections to slum-dwellers who are unable to furnish an ownership proof or consent letter from property owners.
The existing rules, which came into effect over four years ago, do not require any document like ownership proof or consent letter for getting a power connection, though any such connection will be temporary and energised with pre-paid meter only.
Under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) the discoms are mandated to provide electricity connections to all unelectrified households free of cost to the poor by December 2018 to achieve the target of ‘24x7 Power for All’.
While the UPPCL authorities are in an overdrive by holding special camps to issue electricity connections to more than 1.50 crore households that still do not have access to electricity, a large number of slums on vacant plots in various cities are being allegedly denied electricity connections.
In the meantime, the ‘katiya’ (illegal) connections that were being used in slums to draw power have also been stopped in many cases as a part of drive seeking to force people to subscribe to legal connection.
Engineers are insisting that to get power connection, slum-dwellers should either provide the proof of ownership of land where they want a connection or a consent letter from the owner if it belongs to someone else.
Chairman of UP Rajya Vidyut Upbhokta Parishad Awadhesh Kumar Verma said, “Lakhs of poor people stay in slums on vacant plots that belong to someone else. They live there with the permission of plot owners but owners often hesitate in giving consent for power connection fearing a possible title dispute in future.”
Geeta (she goes by one name), a maid, has been living in a ‘jhuggi’ with her family in Harihar Nagar area of Lucknow for years. The hut exists on a vacant plot belonging to someone else who requested her to put up there to save his land from encroachment.
“We have been using electricity through ‘katiyas’ by paying some money to the power department every month. But now they have got tough and have removed ‘katiyas’ asking us to get a legal power connection,” Geeta said.
“When we meet officials for connection, they ask for property proof or consent letter from the plot owner. We are not able to meet these conditions,” she said.
Geeta’s family of eight members is living without electricity for weeks.
WHAT THE RULES SAY
According to officials, rules do not stop the staff from giving an electricity connection to such people. They said the only condition was that only a temporary power connection with a prepaid meter would be given in such cases so that there was no dispute later.
“We amended the Electricity Supply Code in July 2014 doing away with the essentiality of ownership proof or plot owner’s consent for giving an electricity connection with a prepaid meter to jhuggis, hutments and ‘patri’ shop-keepers,” director (distribution), UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC), Vikas Agrwal said.
“We have also allowed payments for a new power connection in easy monthly installments,” he added.
Agrawal said though a power connection given to such consumers would be temporary, the tariff applicable to such connections was the same as normal domestic connections.
The tariff of temporary connections, largely given for construction purpose or for an event, is fairly high.
Verma, on whose petition the UPERC had amended the rules in 2014, said: “The Electricity Supply Code (Fifth Amendment), 2005, clearly says connections to jhuggis/hutments/patri shopkeepers shall be given as temporary connection only and shall be energised through prepaid meters only. The prospective consumer has to provide Aadhar card/PAN card/ration card/voter ID card/driving licence/bank account of a nationalised bank (only one of these documents).”
“All papers issued with regard to such a power connection will boldly display that it is not a proof of ownership of the said premise,” he added.
He said many engineers even in Lucknow were not giving power connections to slum-dwellers either due to ignorance of rules or for mala fide intentions of extorting the poor.
