‘Rs 6.78 lakh for 14 months’: Himachal Congress MLA R S Bali flags ‘misfigures’ in his power bill, CM Sukhu says his bill was also shown incorrectly

The MLA expressed suspicion of a conspiracy regarding the issue and demanded strict action “against those responsible for providing incorrect information”.

Responding to the matter, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu expressed serious concern and stated that even the power bill details for his official residence, ‘Oak Over’, were incorrect.

“Bali came to me and said that incorrect figures were shown in his bill. I spoke to the officers concerned. They informed me that the bills were provided by the PWD, and not the Electricity Department. For Bali’s residence, the actual bill of 14 months was Rs 1.68 lakh, but records showed Rs 6.78 lakh. Similarly, my bill was shown as Rs 3.76 lakh, while the actual amount was Rs 1.43 lakh,” Sukhu told the House.

Sukhu further said that the Public Works Department (PWD) must have calculated the arrears of the previous years while calculating the bill for the last two years of the houses of ministers.”

Sukhu promised the House that the correct figures would be placed before the Assembly soon and that if the error was deliberate, accountability would be fixed. “If R S Bali suspects foul play, a probe will be ordered for sure,” the CM said.

Taking cognizance, Speaker Kuldeep Pathania said that if the incorrect data was furnished intentionally, action will be taken.

On August 19, the government informed the House that nearly Rs 59 lakh had been saved under the electricity surrender subsidy scheme till February 20 this year. It also revealed an expenditure of Rs 17,95,879 on power bills for official residences of cabinet ministers, including the CM and Deputy CM Mukesh Agnihotri, between January 2024 and February 2025.

Sukhu also informed that 15 Congress MLAs, including 11 cabinet ministers, the Speaker, and the Deputy Speaker, have surrendered their electricity subsidies this year after February 20. The details of ministers’ electricity bills were furnished in response to queries from BJP MLA Sudhir Sharma (Dharamshala) and Congress MLA Kewal Singh Pathania (Shahpur).