Power at the cost of broken roads

NEW DELHI: Private power distribution companies in Delhi have not paid penalties slapped on them by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). The amount exceeds Rs 2 crore and has been imposed for delay in road restoration during the past few months.
‘‘While BSES has not paid an exorbitant sum of Rs 1.95 crore, Tata Power-owned North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL) hasn’t paid Rs 15 lakh to the Corporation,’’ said Deepak Mukhopadhaya, MCD’s engineer-in-chief.
According to Mukhopadhaya, these companies have dug up roads in the city for their power distribution network’s upgradation but have not followed the rules set by the corporation. ‘‘Penalty on these companies have been raised for violating the municipal laws,’’ he said.
However, the private companies said they are following the rules set under the contract with the civic agency.
‘‘People are inconvenienced when there is large-scale digging on the roads. Especially after the heavy rains this year, the dug-up areas spelt chaos,’’ a MCD official said.
Secondly, the companies have been accused of not barricading the dug sites properly. ‘‘In the absence of proper barricades, there is a risk of road-users falling into these large pits,’’ the official said.
The corporation officials have also accused the power companies for not removing the debris after the repair work is over.
‘‘Though we issued notices to these firms asking them to pay the penalty almost two months back, they have not paid heed,’’ Mukhopadhaya said.
The engineer-in-chief has threatened action against these two firms. ‘‘We will disallow any further digging, if they don’t pay up,’’ he said.
Power company officials say MCD is threatening them as they are carrying out the restoration work themselves, and have not let the corporation to do so. ‘‘It is a financial loss to the civic agency, as we don’t pay for restoration,’’ a discom official said.
BSES director, J P Chalasani, when contacted, said,‘‘We will look into the matter. This issue is under discussion with MCD.’’ He refused to elaborate.
NDPL’s CEO, Anil K Sardana said:‘‘We are complying by the rules set by the civic agency. I don’t want to comment any further.’’