Hussain Bi's electricity bill hardly agrees with her appearance. This emaciated woman from Chaderghat clad in torn clothes flashes an invoice served by the department for payment of Rs.12,340 for her consumption of electricity!
Having lost her husband a few years ago, she can never probably clear the bill from her meagre earnings as a domestic help.
“I manage to pay some amount whenever I can, to keep the connection from being snapped. Otherwise, I can't even dream of clearing such large amount,” she says.
She is not alone in her predicament though. Syed Riyaz, her neighbour and a daily wage labourer, shows a bill for Rs.22,256, while Abdul Khadeer Quresh, a worker in mutton shop, is to pay Rs.13,016.
Yet, none of these slum dwellers are victims of faulty billing as much as they are of poverty. Scrutiny of each bill reveals that they have arrears pending for years on, with surcharge being punctiliously added up.
“Surcharge has become such a huge component that it sometimes exceeds the arrears in these parts of the city. Raids are occasionally conducted by the vigilance officers who take away household articles. Power is often disconnected as punishment for non-payment,” says Syed Bilal, a social worker in the area.
Connections
However, the connections are stealthily got back once the officials leave, and the consumption this time would be free of cost-- till another foray! For example, Abdul Sattar (60) with no means of livelihood, has arrears of Rs.50,000. He has long ceased to pay power bills, but continues to use electricity for his household needs.
“Arrears amounting to Rs.16-18 lakh are pending from the slum dwellers here. In cases of disconnection, they resort to illegal connections. When discovered, they would be billed for all the units, along with compounding fee, which renders the arrears even higher. It is a vicious cycle nobody is capable of ending,” confides a local CPDCL official.
Chaderghat is but an example of how the see-saw game between the public and the electricity officials goes on in the South Circle of Metro Zone, forced by abject poverty on one side and the compulsion of collections on the other.
Rs. 69 crore!
Compared to the arrears of about Rs.20 crore each from North and Central Circles, the South Circle representing the old city alone owes nearly Rs.69 crore to the company.
It is notable that surcharge forms nearly 30 per cent of the payables in all the three circles.
‘Roughed up'
“When we press for collections, our field staffers take refuge under the pretext of recalcitrant and violent behaviour of the old city residents. There have been instances of our staff being roughed up, but predominant reason behind such huge arrears is the inability of the consumers to pay,” accepts a senior official of CPDCL.
Surcharge waivers were announced earlier, but they will serve no purpose unless the living standards of the consumers are improved, he notes.
