SHILLONG: An annoyed Nongkrem legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit on Tuesday threatened to launch an agitation against the steep increase in electricity bills, with the support of aggrieved people.
As soon as the question hour in the Assembly was over, Basaiawmoit wanted to know the status of the zero hour notice tabled by him regarding power tariff which, according to him, did not figure in Tuesday’s list of business in the House.
Raising a point of order, Basaiwmoit raised the issue of discrepancies in the electricity bills issued by the MeECL. “The poor consumers of my constituency are the worst affected since there is an abnormal rise in the latest billing of the MeECL,” Basaiawmoit said. Citing an example, he said that a consumer who normally received an electricity bill of Rs 450 a month month was getting an electricity bill amounting to Rs 9,260 which was highly questionable. He also read out a list of names of people who received exorbitant electricity bills recently compared to the past months which were nominal.
“I want to ask how these poor consumers who are earning less than Rs 3,000 a month will be able to pay such a huge amount,” the Nongkrem legislator said, adding that this might compel him to take the issue to the streets. He urged upon the Government to take note of the problem.
After listening to the argument of Basaiawmoit, Assembly Speaker AT Mondal asked the legislator to table in the House the electricity bills of the consumers.
