Power to the private players has meant powerlessness of the poor in the capital. Electricity in Delhi has been privatised piecemeal, and handed over to Anil Ambani’s BSES and the Tatas’ NDPL through a dubious process that violated many laws. And now it’s the poor who are paying through their noses for power.
In Kalyanvas and Shashi Garden – both jhuggi colonies of Patparganj – the new BSES meters were installed a month ago. Earlier, these colonies either had no power and no meters or there were government meters. Now, in less than month of installation of the BSES meters, their readings have steeply shot up to Rs. 650-850 a month. Some families in whose homes the wiring was done later, the reading for five days has been Rs. 250. These are jhuggis in which the only electrical appliances in most homes are a single naked bulb and one fan. No pump is used for water. In fact water is another set of woes entirely – since the water supply in the public taps in often contaminated by the drains and leads to diseases. The level of inaccuracy of the meter reading is huge. One woman whose bill came to Rs. 850 was helped by AIPWA to take up her case and verify the reading – and on verification, it turned out that her bill was merely Rs. 150!
AIPWA has launched a signature campaign in these jhuggi clusters demanding removal of the rogue meters, to be submitted to the BSES authorities. The residents have resolved that they will not pay the next bill until the meters are replaced.
— Uma Gupta
