The Hindu : Front Page : Power bill payment: SHGs help residents save money

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Saturday, Jul 28, 2007
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Power bill payment: SHGs help residents save money

Karthik Madhavan

THALAVADY: K. L. Madevappa of Kattu Basavan Maalam (K.B. Maalam) hamlet in Sathyamangalam forests, until recently faced a singular predicament every two months. In paying his electricity bill, usually between Rs. 40 and Rs. 70, he spent more money on travel and food. “The journey through Bannari Amman Temple stop to Rajan Nagar, where the Electricity Board office is, along with breakfast, lunch and return journey cost me about Rs. 100,” Mr. Madevappa said.

Mr. Madevappa’s problem was not just about money but also time. “It took me a full day as I boarded bus at 4.30 a.m. to reach Rajan Nagar at 10.30 a.m, and after payment, waited in Sathyamangalam for long to reach home by 9.30 p.m. In short 12 hours were spent on travel alone,” he said.

The journey was so time-consuming because, the residents of K.B. Maalam and many other hamlets in the hills had only bus to and from the plains. Given the circumstances, neither Mr. Madevappa nor the hamlets’ residents could do anything but spend more than their bill amount in travel and food every two months.

Then in 2005 to solve the problem, the hamlets’ residents, members of 52 self-help groups, came together under the parent body, Sarvodaya Resource Centre.

The centre sent around a few SHG members to collect EB cards and money, and after collecting sent a person to the EB office to pay. “We collected from every household Rs. 5 over and above the bill amount as service charge, from which we paid the courier’s travel expenses, and used the rest for the centre’s development,” says L. Lakhumappa, one of the centre’s directors.

The arrangement, though welcomed, soon faced difficulties in that the hamlets had 862 EB consumers but the number of those serviced did not cross 150.

“When we realised the compensation will help improve collection, we paid the collectors Rs. 2 for every house serviced,”

Mr. Lakhumappa says.Now in 2007, the villagers happily sit under fan relaxing, as power disconnections due to payment default are a thing of the past, as are daylong travel and more expenditure.

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