Complainant Palwinder Singh has filed the present complaint against the opposite parties U/S 12 of the Consumer Protection Act (for short, C.P.Act.) seeking necessary directions to the opposite parties to provide the tubewell connection to him as per their Demand Notice. Opposite parties be further directed to pay him Rs.2,00,000/- as damages and Rs.25,000/- as litigation expenses,  in the interest of justice.

2.        The case of the complainant in brief is that he had applied for Tubewell connection for irrigating his land in the year 1993. The opposite party sent a Demand Notice to him for installation of Tubewell connection in November 2012 and estimated the amount of Rs.97,273/- and as such he deposited the same amount on 17.6.2013 in the office of opposite party no.3. Opposite party assured him that tubewell connection shall be issued to him as per his application within three months from the deposit of estimated amount. He has further pleaded that he time and again visited the office of the opposite party with a request to install the tubewell connection regarding which the amount from him has been received but the opposite party lingering on the matter on one pretext or the other but did not release the tubewell connection which was mandatory on their part and remained giving false promises to him. A legal notice dated 19.08.2014 was served upon the opposite party but the opposite party did not provide the Tubewell connection to him. Thus, there is deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties. Hence this complaint.

3.      Notice of the complaint was issued to the opposite parties who appeared through their counsel and filed their written reply taking the preliminary objections that the National Green Tribunal, New Delhi has passed a status quo order in a matter titled as Safal Bharat Guru Parampara Vs. State of Punjab and others regarding depletion of ground water level in Punjab and hence in the light of status quo order the present Tubewell Connection cannot be issued to the complainant and the complainant applied for tubewell connection in General Category in 1993 and hence complainant is to be released tubewell connection on Seniority basis. On merits, it was submitted that the last tubewell connection was issued to one Ajmer Singh son of Lakha Singh vide test report register Sr.No.139. After Ajmer Singh, the next seniority is of the complainant but the National green Tribunal, New Delhi has passed a status quo order in a matter titled as Safal Bharat Guru Parampara Vs. State of Punjab and others regarding depletion of ground water level in Punjab and hence in the light of status quo order the present Tubewell Connection cannot be issued to the complainant till the subsistence of the status quo order. It was incorrect that opposite party intentionally delayed the matter. The tubewell connections are released to the consumers on seniority basis and by the time the tubewell connection of the complainant became due, The National Green Tribunal New Delhi passed status quo order and hence the tubewell connection could not be issued to the complainant. The legal notice served by the complainant is a matter of record. Thus, there is no deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties. All other averments made in the complaint has been vehemently denied and lastly prayed that the complaint may be dismissed with costs.

4.      Complainant tendered into evidence his own affidavit Ex.CW1/A, alongwith other documents Ex.C2 to Ex.C6 and closed the evidence. 

5.       Sh.Kasturi Lal, S.D.O. PSPCL tendered into evidence his own affidavit Ex.OP-1, alongwith other documents Ex.OP2 and Ex.OP3 and closed the evidence.

6.     From the pleadings and the evidence on record, it is an admitted case of both the litigating parties that the complainant had applied for Tubewell connection and even deposited the estimated amount of Rs.97,273/- in the office of opposite party no.3. The case of the complainant is that despite having fulfilled formalities the opposite parties have not released the connection.

7.      On the other hand, the opposite party has contended that the National green Tribunal, New Delhi had passed a status quo order in a matter titled as Safal Bharat Guru Parampara Vs. State of Punjab and others regarding depletion of ground water level in Punjab and as such in the light of status quo order of the NGT, the present Tubewell connection could not be released to the complainant. However during the pendency of this very complaint Sh.Kasturi Lal, S.D.O. Sub Division Jaura Chhittran stated vide statement dated 23.9.2015 that the case pending before NGT has been disposed off by the NGT but he has yet not received any instructions from the department in this regard. He further stated that as and when he receives the instructions from the head office, Patiala, the connection will be released to the consumer/complainant within 60 days from the receipt of instruction as per rules.

8.     In the light of the all above, we find that the present complaint can be best disposed off by giving directions to the opposite parties and hence we order and direct the opposite party no.3 to get/seek instructions from the Head Office at Patiala within 60 days from the receipt of copy of orders and release the impugned Tubewell connection within 60 days from the receipt of instructions as per rules.

9.       Copy of the order be communicated to the parties free of charges. File is ordered to be consigned to the record room.              

                                                             (Naveen Puri)

                                                                        President

ANNOUNCED:                                    (Jagdeep Kaur)

September, 23 2015.                                         Member                   

*MK*