J M Behl
Compelling Government employees to obtain, nothing outstanding certificate, from Electricity Department, for their domestic connections, to enable the drawing / disbursing officers to draw the genuine and hard earned pay for the month of March every year , has become almost a fashion in the government establishments. By this action, probably the concerned department, gets mental comfort that all the electricity bills have been paid . Ah ! what a false satisfaction, under which our Government lives and stops exerting further in catching the BIG FISH, who are stealing the electricity day in and day out without any fear from any one because they feel they have done their duties once they have greased the palms of the concerned staff looking after the distribution of electricity. Figures must be available with the PDD that how many installations , in the entire state, are still not electronically metered , because it is the belief of the Department that all those , which are electronically metered , probably won’t be doing any HERA-PHERI as such, all those connections which are not yet provided with the electronic meters , always remain the worry of the Govt. for not paying for the hundred percent consumed electricity. So first and foremost duty of the Govt. is to install 100 % electronic meters whether in rural or in urban areas in all the three regions of the Jammu and Kashmir state so that complete revenue for the actually consumed electricity, comes to Government Treasury. If any resistance, by the public, from any corner of the state, is shown in getting their houses / shops metered, it must be dealt with iron hands. Cases, where it becomes impossible to install the required meters, due to certain reasons, created by the consumers, the PDD must ensure that, not only that particular customer but even his next ten generations should not get the electricity supply for which the Government has to really work hard and show its presence.
According to Chief Minister of the State power cuts are inevitable in the state of Jammu and Kashmir because there is a huge gap between the expenditure, on the purchase of electricity and the revenue collected from the consumers of electricity and he does not feel like increasing the charges for the units being utilised by the public to meet the required difference. What a pathetic news that even at that level of high office, the remedy, to keep department working , is found only the power cuts. Does this mean that in our state, the dishonest consumers of electricity are much more than the honest ones, that is why the gap between the expenditure and the revenue collected exists. It is really a shame for those corrupt consumers and also for those employees of the PDD who help them directly or indirectly in making the theft of electricity a successful mission. A simple question remains unsolved that why an honest customer is made to suffer by forcing the power cuts on him , purely for the fault of the illegal connection holders / providers ? Definitely, it is under the clear cut blessings of the concerned department and with hundred percent connivance of its field staff that these illegal activities take place and over ride so openly . Is the PDD not able to see what is happening , for these wrong doings, in the department or it intentionally wants to ignore and shirks its responsibilities in sorting out the visible corruption being hatched under its nose ? In both the cases it is a big blot on the face of the PDD and that is why one can easily conclude that all is not well with the electricity supply.
Can the concerned authorities play harsh on the culprits , existing inside / outside the electricity department to ensure a cut free power supply to the masses of Jammu & Kashmir and also help our Chief Minister in keeping his desire alive, for not increasing the rate for power units being consumed in the state ? Otherwise it is high time for the persons in power to hand over, honourably the management of electricity supply to a keen private concern , which could guarantee smooth and honest functioning of electricity supply.
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