Sanjay Kumar Mishra/Chandigarh
The Haryana Right to Service Commission has imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000 on Commercial Assistant (CA) Devi Lal and Rs. 3,000 on former Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) Dharambir Singh, both of whom were employed at Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) in Tohana, Fatehabad.
The fine was levied after the two officials failed to provide the applicant with the notified service within the prescribed time and mishandled the appeal without taking appropriate action.
An official spokesperson shared details about the case, explaining that Sunil Kumar, the Principal of Girls Senior Secondary School, Kanheri, Fatehabad, had lodged a complaint on May 29, 2024, regarding a correction in his NDS category electricity bill. However, CA Devi Lal closed the case the very next day without conducting any proper investigation.
(SUBHEAD)The spokesperson further clarified that the matter was escalated to the First Grievance Redressal Authority (FGRA) and Second Grievance Redressal Authority (SGRA), but no resolution was achieved. Subsequently, the complainant filed a self-appeal with the Commission on December 25, 2024. Sunil Kumar informed the Commission that a net meter had been installed on February 25, 2021, but he had not received an electricity bill for two years and eight months, until October 2023. In November and December 2023, he received bills which were paid, but in January 2024, he was issued an unusually high bill, prompting him to lodge a complaint.
After a thorough review of the facts, the Commission determined that CA Devi Lal was at fault for prematurely closing the complaint without proper consideration. Similarly, former SDO Dharambir Singh was found guilty of neglecting to take appropriate action to resolve the issue on June 20, 2024. His justification—stating that billing had not occurred from August 2021 to June 2023 due to data migration from Hartron to the R-APDRP system—was deemed unacceptable.
Exercising its powers under Section 17(1)(H) of the Haryana Right to Service Act, the Commission imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000 on CA Devi Lal and Rs. 3,000 on former SDO Dharambir Singh. Additionally, the Commission has directed the current XEN, Krishna Kumar, to issue a revised bill within one week and submit a report to the Commission by January 31, 2025.