NEW DELHI: Warning that the poor power situation in the Capital and growing public resentment over "indifferent'' functioning of the private distribution companies could cost the Congress party dearly, nearly two dozen Congress MLAs on Thursday urged the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, to take effective steps to set right the situation or risk facing the wrath of harassed citizens.

The MLAs spoke out their fears at an interactive session held in Players Building under the leadership of Ms. Dikshit who was seated along with her Council of Ministers. Over 20 MLAs along with officials of BSES and NDPL took part in the meeting that also saw demands for introducing new competition for the present discoms.

The tone was set by the Deputy Speaker and Matia Mahal legislator Shoaib Iqbal who said there was strong resentment among the people over inflated bills and faulty, fast running meters. He said power threatens to become a major issue and the very fact that BJP leaders were able to hold a dharna in front of his house a few days back indicated the level of resentment prevailing among the consumers.

The Sultanpuri MLA Jai Kishen said the two discoms were looting people with both hands and no proper redressal system had been put in place. The tall talk of appointing PROs and better interaction with consumers was nothing but hallow promise.

The former Power Minister, Narendra Nath was also critical of the functioning of the discoms especially with regard to new electronic meters. He said a consumer forum should be asked to seal the meters at the manufacturer's level so that no tampering takes place. Similarly, he pointed out that leakage of power due to old wiring was a major problem and resulted in the electronic meters running fast.

The Mahipalpur legislator, Vijay Lochav, said power had become a major issue and people were seeking answers from elected representatives as to why things were going from bad to worse.

However, the power discoms hardly gave a hearing to the elected representatives and many a times did the opposite of what they were told to do. Other prominent speakers included the Chief Parliamentary Secretary, Nasib Singh, Kanwar Karan Singh, Bijender Singh, Brahm Pal and Brakha Singh.

Responding to the concerns of the legislators, Ms. Dikshit directed the discoms that no meter be replaced till it is faulty or found not be in a working condition.

The discoms will not change meters for the sake of changing, she added. Asking the discoms to pull up their socks, Ms. Dikshit said initiative should also be taken to first provide power connections to schools and hospitals.

Similarly, all efforts should be directed towards making the process of acquiring a new power connection not only less cumbersome but also a pleasant exercise. She also directed the discoms to have call centres at the district level and strengthen the machinery for redressal of grievances of the common consumer.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail