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Hindustan Times
02-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Ludhiana: Two months on, over 9,000 plot owners await power connection
Despite the government's nod to grant electricity connections to small plot holders in newly regularised colonies, thousands of residents in Ludhiana continue to wait for power connections even two months after the official deadline. The delay has raised concerns as the city braces for an intense summer season, and residents, despite meeting all formalities, are still without a stable power supply. According to officials, the power utility is currently dealing with a massive backlog of over 9,500 pending applications for new connections across three major divisions, including Focal Point, Aggar Nagar and Sunder Nagar. Officials asserted that Focal Point division alone has more than 4,000 pending requests, followed by Aggar Nagar (over 3,000) and Sunder Nagar with 2,500 requests pending. Notably, the backlog comes in the wake of a state government notification issued on November 25, 2024. As per the amendment under Section 20 (5) of The Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act (PAPRA), 1995, plot holders in unauthorised colonies with up to 500 square yards, were allowed to register their plots without obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the department of housing and urban development or the department of local government. This window was open from December 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025. Following this, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) issued directions dated December 4, permitting the release of electricity connections to those who had registered their plots under the said notification. However, officials on the ground say the sheer volume of applications received during this period overwhelmed the power utility's capacity. 'We receive barely 200 applications a month for new connections. But after the NOC waiver, thousands of small plot holders applied within a short span, overwhelming our system. While we are working to release these connections at the earliest, clearing such a large backlog is taking time,' said Amrinder Singh, XEN, Focal Point division. Meanwhile, consumers who completed their registration and submitted all required documents as early as January or February have expressed growing frustration. 'We were assured the connections would be released quickly, but it's been months and we're still waiting. It's difficult to manage without a stable power supply, especially with summer approaching,' said Kamalpreet Singh, a local applicant. A senior PSPCL official acknowledged the delay, attributing it to an overwhelming surge in applications and limited manpower. He further added that in the span of mere three months, from December to March, the corporation has released 13,216 new electricity connections across Ludhiana. This included 4,179 connections in the Focal Point division, 3,521 in Sunder Nagar, and 2,433 in Aggar Nagar. However, the demand has far outpaced expectations, largely due to the NOC waiver granted to small plot holders under the new policy. 'To manage the surge, we've deployed outsourced and contractual workers and asked regular technical staff to work in tandem with them. Equipment like smart meters and installation tools have also been mobilised from other divisions to fast-track the process,' the official added.
Time of India
24-04-2025
- Time of India
Man found hanging in office of JMC-H, suicide note found
Jaipur: A 55-year-old man was found hanging in a meeting hall of the Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) Heritage headquarters Thursday afternoon, with a handwritten note alleging harassment by an executive engineer. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Police identified the deceased as Har Dayal, 50, a resident of the city who worked for a private contractor overseeing cleaning operations. Office staff alerted Manak Chowk police after spotting him inside the closed hall. "We recovered a purported suicide note in which the victim claims an XEN was troubling him for some time," said station house officer Gur Bhupendra Singh. "The note has been sealed for forensic examination, and we are recording statements of employees who were present in the building." Relatives of Har Dayal reached the police station in the evening and said they would lodge a formal complaint against the officer named in the note. Senior officials, speaking off the record, confirmed that an FIR would be registered once the family's statement is recorded. Investigators are collecting CCTV footage from the premises and have requested personnel files from the civic body to establish any prior disputes between the supervisor and the engineer. The body was sent to Sawai Man Singh Hospital for a post-mortem.
Express Tribune
11-03-2025
- Express Tribune
HESCO officials convicted over buffaloes' death
In a ground breaking judgment, four power utility officials were sentenced to one year imprisonment and Rs0.2 million fine each for the death of three buffaloes due to electrocution from snapped power cables. The Consumer Court Judge Humaira Shaukat sentenced Hyderabad Electricity Supply Company (HESCO) then executive engineer (XEN) Imran Awan, Sub-Divisional Officer One Juman Jamari and Line Superintendents Imdad Memon and Akhtar Memon to one year imprisonment and a fine of Rs200,000 each. In 2023, three buffaloes were electrocuted after high tension electricity lines broke and fell on College Road within the boundaries of HESCO Sub-Division One. The owner of the buffaloes, Anwar Rind, had registered a case at the city police station against the said officers.
Express Tribune
27-02-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Minister denies utility stores' closure plans
PML-N-led coalition government in the Centre now has 229 members in the NA. PHOTO: APP The National Assembly Standing Committee on Industries and Production on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction over a Pakistan Steel Mills (PSM) executive engineer (XEN) delivering a briefing on behalf of the ministry, questioning the absence of the ministry's secretary and other relevant officials. The lower house panel, chaired by Syed Hafeezuddin, convened to review the proposed development budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The committee chairman highlighted that the Ministry of Industries and Production had a budget of PKR 4.91 billion in the previous fiscal year but utilised only Rs22.09 million of its development funds. During the session, PSM XEN delivered a briefing on behalf of the ministry, which sparked outrage among committee members. Expressing his discontent, Committee Member Abdul Hakeem Baloch questioned how an XEN could represent the ministry in such a critical discussion. He inquired about the absence of the ministry's secretary and other relevant officials. "Your role seems limited to laying off employees rather than addressing core issues," Baloch remarked. The committee chairman assured members that the PSM issue would also be discussed in the meeting. Addressing concerns about the fate of utility stores, Federal Minister for Industries and Production Rana Tanveer dismissed the impression that the entity was being closed. "Who is saying we are shutting down utility stores?" he asked. However, he acknowledged that the stores were incurring billions in losses. Tanveer assured the committee that steps would be taken to secure the future of utility stores' employees, clarifying that even permanent employees were not considered government staff. He further revealed plans to operate utility stores under a public-private partnership model. "We have already decided that no new daily-wage workers will be hired in utility stores," he added. The minister also drew a parallel between the financial struggles of utility stores and the downfall of PSM, once the largest steel plant in Asia. "Small stores have been opened in single-room spaces across various cities, which is not a sustainable model," he noted. The committee chairman announced that both utility stores representatives and the PPP would be called for further discussions.
