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| Shocking! 50,000 power connections still operative via Kundi system...? | | Deptt fails to identify black Sheep | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Feb 22: Unbelievable! But true that over 50,000 power supply connections are running illegally here in the winter capital. While senior officials in Power Development Department (PDD) are busy in instructing and supervising the visiting departmental teams collecting due arrears from residential as well as commercial sectors, certain officials at helm of affairs are allegedly "minting money" from that lot (slum dwellers) who do not have obtained power supply connections.
A senior official of the rank of Executive Engineer (Xen) of PDD, while speaking to Early Times on the condition of anonymity disclosed that "though hectic efforts by the department have been made to control power theft but even then the same could not be controlled fully as certain officials deputed in the field area are hand-in-glove with the persons indulging in power thefts."
A random survey of conducted ET team that there is no doubt of the presence of a large chunk of migrant labourers from Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa settled in slum areas (Jhuggis) in and around the Municipal limits here. That chunk contains at least the population of about 1.75 to Rs 2 lakh. Out of that lot, only few per cent have obtained either Cluster Meters or Temporary Connections, rest almost all are allegedly greasing the palms of PDD officials deputed in field areas and enjoying power supply almost on "negligible rates".
"We do not know the procedure as we do not have any knowledge how to apply and where to apply. When we ask the PPD employees deputed in our area, he/she indicates better to give Rs 100 per month per Jhuggi instead of paying Rs 200 to Rs 300 per month to the department," shared a migrant labourer residing in slum area of Shiv Nagar and Shakti Nagar areas.
"See, we get just Rs 250 as wage per day. We have our children to feed and it is very difficult to pay. So, we oblige the PDD employees and they allow us to apply Kundi to get power supply," detailed another migrant labourer living in Rajpura Mangotrian area. While none of the concerned senior official of PDD was available for comment, highly placed sources revealed that "there are number of slum areas in Shakti Nagar, Upper Shiv Nagar, Lower Shiv Nagar, Rajpura Mangotrian, Talab Tillo, Channi Himmat, Greater Kailash, Sunjwan, Bathindi, Sidhra, Channi Rama, Kunjwani, Roop Nagar, Durga Nagar, Camp Gole Gujral etc where migrant labourers are enjoying power supply without seeking cluster metering or temporary connections of three months.
Will the top hierarchy of PDD be able to track down the alleged corrupt officials serving in the field area? |
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