DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM: BHADRAK
Dated the 17th day of July, 2019
C.D Case No. 67 of 2017
Present 1. Shri Raghunath Kar, President
2. Shri Basanta Kumar Mallick, Member
3. Afsara Begum, Member
Khageswar Sethi
S/o: Late Pranabandhu Sethi
Vill: Dagarpada,
Po: Naguan,
Ps: Bhandaripokhari,
Dist: Bhadrak
……………………. Complainant
(Versus)
1. Junior Engineer (Manager) Electrical,
B.P. II, Bhandaripokhari,
At: Dhamnagar Chhaka,
Po: Piripur,
Ps: Dhamnagar,
Dist: Bhadrak
2. S.D.O. Electrical Dhamnagar
At/Po/Ps: Dhamnagar,
Dist: Bhadrak
3. Executive Engineer Electrical, NESCO
At: Aradi Chhaka,
Po/Ps/Dist: Bhadrak …………………………..Opp. Parties
Counsel For Complainant: Sri N. Sahu & Others, Adv
Counsel For the O.Ps: Gayatri Pradhan
Date of hearing: 27.03.2018
Date of order: 17.07.2019
RAGHUNATH KAR, PRESIDENT
This dispute arises out of the complaint filed by the complainant alleging deficiency of service and unfair trade practice against the O.Ps.
The complainant has filed this complaint against the O.Ps aggrieved with deficiency of service are to the effect- that the complainant is a consumer of the O.Ps bearing consumer No. DYS-37456 R.G. The complainant got consumer ship under scheme of Kutira Jyoti. The complainant obtained the consumer ship on 13.10.2010 under the K.T.J, but it is a matter of regret that the O.Ps have not supplied any electric power connection to the house premises of the complainant. The O.Ps have affixed the meter in the house premises of the complainant on 13.12.2010 without supplying the electricity power connection. After expire of one year the O.Ps supplied the electricity power connection to the house premises of the complainant. But they were not supplying any electric monthly bill to the complainant. After some months the bill was supplied upon the complainant through the local line man. The said line man handed over the bill to the complainant on 20.12.2012 and demanded the payment of revenue when the complainant enquired about the bills and money receipts of the previous months. The line man replied that the payment of the complainant shall be deducted when his regular bills would be received. The line man further told that as the complainants connection was under the scheme of K.T.J, so the bills would be prepared after some years. The line man told to the complainant he had to pay Rs 100/- per month till the bills would be prepared. The complainant being an innocent and uneducated person believed upon the line man and continued to pay Rs 100/- to the said line man. He received the money from the complainant without delivering any money receipt to the complainant. This practice was continued till 31.06.2014.
The complainant received a bill from the OP No. 1 on 31.07.2014 through a person who was a staff of the OP No. 1. The complainant showed the bill to an educated person of the village and came to know that those bills had been prepared on provisionally because of the premises of the complainant was locked, the meter was stopped and 230 units on electricity consumption was imposed upon the complainant. In which the complainant had to pay Rs 1763/- and his outstanding bill was Rs 2500/-. Having astonished with this the complainant visited the office of the O.Ps again and again about the calculation of the bills and sudden enhancement for the amount. The O.Ps advised him that the meter has gone out of order. The said meter would be replaced and new meter should be fixed there. The complainant relying on the O.Ps affixed a new meter on 24.08.2014. The complainant became harassed because all his requests for correction of the bill became futile and he submitted representation before the OP No. 2 on 31.03.2016. The OP No. 2 assured him a new meter would be affixed in his premises when it will be available. The complainant offered Rs 1350/- to the OP No. 2 in his office on 12.12.2106 but the OP No. 2 told him to deposit the same amount in the office of the OP No. 1; but the OP No. 1 refused to receive the said amount from the complainant because the BPL meter was not available in the office. Subsequently the complainant paid the bill amount Rs 4648/- from the date of 31.07.2014 to 31.03.2017 without meter. Then the O.Ps prepared a bill and imposed Rs 2899/- till 21.08.2017 which the complainant did not use. After several requests made by the complainant to the O.Ps a new meter could not be affixed till 23.01.2017. On that day the O.Ps refused to affixed a new meter due to non availability in their office. The cause of action of this case arose on that day. At last the complainant was compelled to take shelter under this Forum for redressal of his grievance.
Hence the complainant has sought for the following reliefs:-
1. The O.Ps be directed to affix a new meter in his premises.
2. The O.Ps be directed to revise the bill rectifying the same.
3. Compensation amounting to Rs 20,000/- be imposed upon the O.Ps and to pay the same to the complainant towards the mental agony and harassment, as well the cost of the litigation.
Documents filed by the complainant (Xerox copy).
1. Copy of bill dt. 21.08.2017- 1 sheet.
2. Copy of bill dt. 31.07.2014- 1 sheet.
3. Bill payment receipt- 18 sheets.
4. Copy of application dt. 31.03.2016- 1 sheet.
On the other hand the O.Ps have filed their written version analogously. The O.Ps have admitted the averments made in the complaint by the complainant. The O.Ps have denied the averments made in the Para No. 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6. The fact of the written version is that the complainant has availed power supply under RGGVY scheme under Kutir Jyoti category with contract demand of 0.5 K.W load since 2012 and came into the billing folder on June 2014. Since the date of the power supply till June 2014 the consumer has not paid any electric dues towards his consumption of electricity. Therefore, the arrear bill of the consumer till June 2014 has reached up to Rs 1788.00. Regarding payment to the line man it is submitted that, it is beyond the knowledge of the O.Ps and at no point of time the complaint has intimated such fact to the O.Ps. They have also stated that in the month of July 2014 to January 2016 the complainant had paid only fixed charges as applicable as per the said period. That during February 2017 the complainant has been diverted from Kutir Jyoti to domestic category with contract demand of 0.5 K.W load.
The O.Ps have further stated that one energy meter has already been installed in the premises of the consumer on 28.10.2017 bearing Meter Serial No- NLT004870, make- L & T, Seal No- T095298 and the energy bill of the complainant will be revised as per Regulation- 97 of the O.E.R.C Distribution (Condition of Supply) Code, 2004 after taking three months average reading. The O.Ps have again stated that at no point of time before filing of the case the complainant approached the O.Ps for redressal of his grievance which is narrated in the complaint. At last they have prayed for the dismissal of this complaint devoid of merit.
Documents relied upon:-
1. Billing statement of the consumer- 1 sheet.
2. Statement of accounts- 1 sheet.
OBSERVATION
We have already perused the complaint and written versions filed by the complainant and the O.Ps as well as the documents filed by them. As per our observation the O.Ps have already installed one energy meter in premises of the complainant/consumer on 28.10.2017 bearing Meter Serial No- NLT004870, make- L & T, Seal No- T095298 and the energy bill of the complainant will be revised as per Regulation- 97 of the O.E.R.C Distribution (Condition of Supply) Code, 2004 after taking three months average reading. The complainant has not yet informed this matter to the learned Forum. Secondly whether the previous bills have been revised or not, the complainant has not informed the facts to this Forum. The O.Ps have already admitted in their written version with regard to the installation of the energy meter and revision of the bills. At the time of filing of the written version the O.Ps had not complied all the conditions what they have promised to give the complainant. Although the deficiency of service has been caused by the O.Ps but they have complied one grievance of the complainant. Hence it is ordered;
- ORDER
The complaint be and the same is allowed on part on contest against the O.Ps. The O.Ps here by directed to revise the energy bills of the complainant as per Regulation 97 of the O.E.R.C Distribution Code, 2004 after taking bills of three successive months, after the reading find out the average amount and revise the same in the recent bill. The O.Ps are here by directed to impose the monthly revenue upon the complainant according to aforesaid process. The O.Ps are also directed to carry out the same within 30 days on receipt copy of the order.
This order is pronounced in the open Forum on this day of 17th July, 2019 under my hand and seal of the Forum.
