SHILLONG, July 22: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has threatened to take the Meghalaya government and the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) to the court for shutting down power supply to the entire village due to non-payment of bills by one or two defaulters.
TMC national spokesperson Saket Gokhale on Friday wrote to Power Minister Prestone Tynsong regarding the ‘criminal practice’ of denial of electricity to entire villages due to a few defaulters.
“I have been apprised of a shocking and inhuman tactic employed by the state government and the MeECL against poor villagers. Numerous reports and first-hand accounts have said that MeECL shuts down electricity to an entire village when a few villagers are late in paying their power bills. Even when the majority of villagers have paid their bills, the main electricity transformer to the village is shut down on the grounds that a handful of villagers have not made payments,” said Gokhale, who is currently on a visit to Meghalaya.
Demanding immediate restoration of power, the TMC spokesperson said, “Denying power to those who have paid their bills on time is not only atrocious but a criminal act.”
He continued: “In case action is not taken immediately and the situation is not rectified the government of Meghalaya and the MeECL would be made respondents in petitions at the appropriate judicial forums including the High Court of Meghalaya.”
“Neither the government of Meghalaya nor the MeECL has any right to deny electricity to villagers who have been making timely payments of their bills,” he added.
Giving specific examples of Rari and Kosi Chora villages in North Garo Hills, Gokhale said the electricity supply has been disconnected for the past two months only because a few households had not made their payment.
“Similarly, power was disconnected in Dingrepa and Matchu Ki villages over the same ‘frivolous issue’. Numerous reports and firsthand accounts have said that MeECL shuts down electricity to an entire village when a few villagers are late in paying their bills,” he pointed out.
“Let me remind you that under the Indian law and our Constitution there are no provisions for medieval practice like collective punishment. In fact Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees life and liberty to every person,” Gokhale wrote.
