Gurgaon: Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has a gigantic task at hand — around 2,000 defunct electricity poles need to go in a little over two months. Nearly seven months after Haryana ordered the removal of the poles standing along roads, DHBVN has removed barely one in three identified structures in its jurisdiction, leaving it with 1,903 poles to clear before the Dec 31 deadline.Across Haryana, the two utilities had identified 6,443 defunct poles. Of these, 4,222 had been removed by Sept, leaving 2,221 pending. UHBVN has 318 left to clear, while DHBVN must remove six times that number in the period. The southern Haryana utility accounts for nearly 86% of the 2,221 poles awaiting removal across the state, exposing a sharp gap in execution between the two power distribution companies.The removal drive followed a meeting chaired by chief minister Nayab Singh Saini in March, when the two utilities were directed to identify electricity poles no longer serving an operational purpose, remove them and deposit the recovered material in designated stores. While DHBVN has completed just 31.8% of its identified work, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has cleared 91.3% of its backlog, according to progress reports up to Sept 2026. The disparity is particularly evident in Rewari, where 1,131 poles associated with 11kV and 33kV lines remain pending. Fatehabad has another 316 poles awaiting removal and Narnaul 247. These three circles account for nearly 89% of DHBVN’s outstanding work.DHBVN managing director Vikram Singh has directed officials to complete the remaining work within the stipulated timeline. The report doesn’t provide a month-wise breakdown of removals or explain why progress in the southern utility has been substantially slower than in Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN).The backlog raises questions about the monitoring of the removal drive and whether DHBVN’s remaining work can be completed on schedule. The utility will need to accelerate clearance across its lagging circles if it is to meet the year-end target. “The work is in progress and remaining work will be completed within the stipulated time frame,” spokesperson of DHBVN Sanjay Chug told TOI.Rewari’s backlog comprises 795 poles associated with 11kV lines and 336 with 33kV lines. In Fatehabad, 316 poles remain listed for removal, including some lying on the ground. Narnaul has 247 pending, while Bhiwani has 142. Gurgaon-1 and Jind have seven and five, respectively.DHBVN’s report lists Faridabad, Palwal, Gurgaon-2 and Sirsa among the circles where the removal work has been completed. However, the figures supplied do not fully reconcile the outstanding total of 1,903 poles with the circle-wise numbers detailed in the release, leaving a gap that the utility needs to clarify.
