Nigam’s drive against power thefts loses steam in Faridabad circle
The detection of power thefts in Faridabad circle of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) have been reduced to less than half this year in comparison to last year, according to available details.
Shortage of staff, unauthorised colonisation in the district and the elections this year are cited as the reason for slowing the drive to check power thefts. As many as 5,924 cases of power thefts were detected in the period between April 2023 and March 2024 by the DHBVN. Only 1,472 power thefts were detected between April and October this year (period of seven months).
While the penalty imposed on violators for stealing power in the last fiscal was Rs. 39.97 crore, only Rs 10.75 crore fine was collected for such violations this year, said sources in the DHBVN. The average detection of power thefts per month in the last fiscal was little over 493 cases per month. This year, average monthly power theft detection stands at 210 cases per month, which is less than half of the target achieved in the past one year.
The number of FIRs registered against people for stealing power between January and October this year is 1,043. This is one fifth of 5,226 people booked last year for power thefts in the circle. According to official figures, the average FIRs registered for power thefts in 2023-24 was 435.5 which was almost three times higher than the number of cases registered in the current financial year of 2024-25.
The average monthly penalty for power thefts imposed last year was around Rs 3.31 crore. This fine has been reduced to Rs 1.53 crore this year which is less than 50 per cent of the penalty realised from violators last year. However, the difference in recovery of penalty in both the years is around nine per cent only. The department has realised around 51.18 and 42.77 per cent penalty, respectively, in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 fiscal.
The most sensitive zone where maximum power thefts have been detected in the circle is the Greater Faridabad area. In all, 2,164 cases of power thefts were detected during 12 months between 2023 and 24 from this area. While Ballabgarh and Old Faridabad followed with 1,966 and 1,392 power theft cases, respectively, the NIT zone recorded the least number of such incidents, said officials of the department.
Jitender Dhull, Superintending Engineer, DHBVN, claimed that all efforts were being made to curb the incidence of power thefts. He said the difference between such cases detected during the current and last fiscal would likely be covered up in the remaining period of this year. He said each division had been given a target to recover Rs 5 crore penalty from people stealing power till the end of the current financial year. The realisation of fine was delayed due to pending legal cases, he said.
