Sanjay Kumar Mishra/Chandigarh

The Haryana Right to Service Commission has taken strict action against negligence by the Electricity Department and imposed a fine of Rs. 3,000 on a Junior Engineer (JE). The Commission has also directed compensation of Rs. 3,000 to be paid to the complainant.

In a complaint filed by Sh. Kapil Grover, a resident of Panipat, who stated that his electricity bill was not corrected even after getting a solar connection. The Commission found that there was unnecessary delay and carelessness by the officers of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and ordered action against them. 

Sh. Grover filed a complaint on July 1, 2024. He had applied for a solar connection on March 1, 2024, and the connection was issued on April 5, 2024. However, the connection details were not updated in the department’s records. As a result, his electricity bill was issued with an additional amount of Rs. 8,240 without deduction of solar units. 

Sharing information in this regard a spokesperson from the commission said that JE Sukhwinder Singh delayed updating the connection and entered the initial reading of the solar meter incorrectly, which led to the incorrect bill. For this negligence, the Commission fined him Rs. 3,000 and directed that the same amount be paid to the complainant as compensation. 

The Commission has recommended disciplinary action against Assistant Engineer, Kuldeep Punia, working as the then first level grievance redressal authority, and Executive Engineer Suresh, working as the second level grievance redressal authority, to the Additional Chief Secretary, Energy Department for wrongly resolving the complaint. They closed the complaint without giving the consumer a proper hearing, even though the issue remained unresolved. 

The Commission clearly stated that such negligence will be taken seriously in the future as well, and strict action will be taken against officers responsible for delay or irregularity in citizen services.