Haryana waives penalty for power bill defaulters

Chandigarh, In a major relief to defaulting power consumers having an annual income of less than Rs 1 lakh, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar today announced a complete waiver of their penalty amount.

“Irrespective of the default amount, such consumers will not have to pay more than the average bill of one year even if their bill is pending for more than a year. Such families will have to pay a maximum of Rs 3,600 only for the consumption of an average of 150 units per month. Of this amount, the consumers will have to pay only 25 per cent for the restoration of the power connection,” said Khattar while presiding over a meeting with Power Department officials today.

PK Das, Chairman, Power Utilities, said, “The scheme is for the poorest of the poor. Two conditions must be fulfilled — family income below Rs 1 lakh and 150 units per month average consumption.”

The CM said getting adequate water and electricity supply was the fundamental right of citizens. “It has thus been decided to provide electricity connections even in irregular colonies. Citizens will only have to apply for the connection. No document will be sought and the connection will be issued in about a month,” he said.