-Instructions to give Compensation of Rs 5 Thousand to the Complainant
Chandigarh : In an important decision, the Haryana Right to Service Commission has ordered to give compensation of Rs 5 thousand to the complainant due to the shortcomings of the electricity department.
Bharat Yadav, a resident of Gurugram, had lodged a complaint with the Commission that he had applied for a new electricity connection of 2 kW for domestic use on 01 January 2025, but despite this he had to visit the departmental offices for a long time. No clear reason was given to him and finally after several months, the No Objection Certificate was issued on 26 March 2025. During this delay, neither the application was rejected, nor any information was given, due to which the complainant had to face unnecessary stress. Giving information about the case, the spokesperson of the Commission said that the Commission’s investigation made it clear that the complainant Shri Bharat Yadav had to face unnecessary mental harassment without any fault, for which the corporation is responsible.
During the hearing of the case by the Commission, the fact came to light that in the letter sent to the builder on 24 December 2024, the corporation had clearly stated that the approval for converting the single-point connection into multi-point was given by the full-time directors of the corporation on 30 May 2024 itself. Despite this, the process was unnecessarily stopped by the officials of the corporation in the name of approval of ‘electrification plan’. The Commission also clarified that such a plan is submitted only by the colonizer or other government agencies, and not by DHBVN itself, when the connections are to be issued directly by the corporation.
The Commission also found in its investigation that the corporation had already purchased about 4000 meters, which makes it clear that there was an intention to issue connections even before the approval of the electrification plan. Besides, the Commission also observed that when about 39 such connections could be issued without sanctioning the scheme, why was the complainant denied this facility.
The Commission, considering the entire matter as a case of violation of consumer rights and clear negligence in their service, has taken action under Section 17(1)(h) of Haryana Right to Service Act, 2014 and has approved a compensation amount of Rs. 5000. This amount will be paid initially by Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam from its own funds and can be recovered from the guilty officers later after internal investigation.
The Commission has also expressed disapproval with the conduct of Executive Engineer Shri Vikas Yadav, working as the first level grievance redressal authority, who did not attend the hearing twice. The Commission has advised him to be cautious in future and has entered his name in the monitoring database so that his performance can be monitored in future.