Chandigarh, January 3
The Haryana Right to Service (RTS) Commission has directed the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), Hisar to grant a compensation of Rs 1,000 to a consumer for causing undue harassment to him.
While giving this information here today, a spokesperson of the Commission said Sh. Sanjiv Kumar, a resident of Charkhi Dadri district, had approached the Commission regarding the wrong billing of his electricity meter after it was suddenly found defective.
The First Grievance Redressal Authority told the Commission that the meter was replaced on April 27, 2023 by Sh. Rajender, the then AFM. However, the meter replacement was entered into the system only on April 10, 2024, for which disciplinary action has been initiated against the concerned official.
The Commission said it was evident that the consumer’s grievance has been fully redressed now. However, due to systemic constraints, the starting reading for the period commencing April 10, 2O24 was recorded as zero. This discrepancy was corrected manually while calculating the adjustment of Rs. 885, which was reflected in the bill dated October 5, 2024. Therefore, no issues remain pending in this revision. But nonetheless, it is undeniable that a delay of approximately one year occurred in updating the Meter Change Order (MCO). This delay caused undue harassment to the consumer.
The Commission, in exercise of its powers vested under Section 17 (1)(h) of the Haryana Right to Service Act, 2014, awarded a token compensation of Rs 1,000 to the consumer to be paid by DHBVN out of its funds and to be recovered from defaulting official Sh. Rajender, the then AFM, in accordance with law. However, DHBVN is free to conduct an inquiry and recover this amount from him or any other person responsible for the lapse, the Commission stated. The XEN, Charkhi Dadri has been directed to intimate the compliance of the order to the Commission by January 25, 2025.
