Ten held for power theft

They have registered 23 cases of power theft, arrested 10 persons from the village and forced owners of 400 more ice and plastic factories to down shutters. The total loss of revenue because of the power thefts in this village is estimated to be Rs 1.5 crore. More arrests are likely to follow.

Pooth Kalan is a dusty little village in north-west Delhi, off Kanjhawala Main Road. During the raids, almost every building which is usually a residence-cum-factory along the narrow, dusty roads and drains choked with plastic waste were found consuming more electricity than they were entitled to. Some owners hadn8217;t even installed electric meters.

8220;But this is not our fault. The DVB8217;s ways had forced us to take to stealing power,8221; says Bhagat Ram, 54, an ice factory owner. 8220;I have one meter. I need two more, but the local DVB office has not responded to my applications for the past two years. Instead, they are demanding Rs 15,000 as bribe per meter. We can8217;t even get minor defects rectified without paying Rs 400-Rs 500 as bribe.8221;

Adds village pradhan Basant Lal: 8220;There is no doubt that power theft is rampant here. But why? Local DVB officials have allowed this to happen over the years because it suits their interests. They didn8217;t bother to come and distribute electricity bills for five years. The residents and factory owners didn8217;t mind because it suited their interests too.8221;

Lal says the DVB had been raiding the village every year, temporarily disconnecting the power supply and restoring it after money exchanged hands.

But everything changed on Tuesday night, when the 8220;serious raids8221; began suddenly and the factories went silent. Bhagat Ram was fortunate because he had been tipped off. His neighbours weren8217;t. They have been booked under a non-bailable offence and can get bail only if allowed by a city court, says SHO Sultanpuri J.S. Malik.

Others like Devinder, who runs a plastic factory, have been given 48 hours to pay his outstanding arrears: Rs 14 lakh. Otherwise, he will be arrested. He says he has paid Rs 4 lakh and doesn8217;t know how he can manage the rest of the money.

This time around, CRPF personnel accompanied DVB officials during the raids. The colour of khaki had its effect. Even without it, every stranger is treated with suspicion. If you ask a question, especially connected with power supply, residents shoot back with 10 more.

8220;But we are sure this will be another tamasha,8221; says village pradhan Basant Lal. 8220;The local officials will come back again. The solution is that DVB should be privatised. We should be allowed to draw as much power as we want, of course, legally. It is better to pay the bills than pay bribes. At least people will not lose their source of income.8221;

An official at the DVB8217;s zonal office in Sector-20, Rohini, which oversees power supply in Pooth Kalan, says: 8220;I admit there is corruption in the department. But consumers should not take advantage. I hope these raids will send the message that we are serious this time8221;.