Noida: Power department has suspended an ongoing drive against illegal connections in Chhijarsi, Parthala Khanjarpur, Sorkha, Chotpur, Garhi Chaukhandi and other parts of Hindon floodplains since Tuesday following protests and unrest among residents.Senior officials said the discom is in discussion with state govt after GB Nagar MLA Pankaj Singh reached out to CMO and senior power department officials, urging that valid electricity connections to houses on the floodplain should not be disconnected. He also sought a humanitarian approach and temporary connections for residents without power.“I spoke on the phone with the CM’s office and senior departmental officials to directly apprise them of the actual, sensitive, and practical day-to-day challenges faced by the residents, as well as the ground realities. During the conversation, I clearly urged that valid electricity connections should not be disconnected,” Singh wrote on X, while referring to the drive.While National Green Tribunal’s July 13, 2017, order prohibits construction on floodplains—and, by extension, access to water and power for illegal occupants—a 2016 central govt notification also designates them as construction-free zones. Union ministry of water resources, river development and Ganga rejuvenation’s Oct 7, 2016, order defines a floodplain as the area along a river or its tributaries that is inundated during a once-in-100-year flood and empowers local authorities to remove unauthorised structures that interrupt continuous water flow or cause river pollution to preserve their natural groundwater recharge functions.In Gautam Budh Nagar, however, the irrigation department, which owns the land, says floodplain areas have not been formally demarcated. Officials therefore interpret the Centre’s definition to mean that the embankments along Hindon and Yamuna, known locally as the pushta area/road, fall within the floodplain, making construction there impermissible.“Hence, colonies in parts of Chhijarsi, Parthala Khanjarpur, Sorkha, Chotpur and Garhi Chaukhandi, among others, fall within the floodplain areas,” irrigation department executive engineer Mukesh Kumar Vaish told TOI.In the four-day drive till Aug 31, the electricity department snapped more than 3,500 illegal power connections in Parthala, Sadullapur, Chotpur and Chhajarsi areas of Hindon floodplain and filed over 40 FIRs for alleged electricity theft. Over 150 kilowatts of power theft was detected.
Parts of Chhijarsi, Parthala Khanjarpur, Sorkha, Chotpur and Garhi Chaukhandi lie within the floodplain but have seen illegal colonisation
Power department teams also found that two villagers were operating private electricity distribution networks that supplied illegal electricity to over 200 people living on the floodplains and in illegal slums by setting up their own private transformers. While Rampal of Radha Kunj colony of Parthala Khanjarpur managed to get an authorised load of 196 kVA, the second accused, Chatru, a resident of Parthala village, had a sanctioned load connection of 200 kVA. The load is equivalent to what a mid-sized farmer, a small manufacturing unit and an entrepreneur’s office building need.The two had managed to operate the parallel discoms for nearly 14 years, while continuing to pay hefty monthly bills of Rs 8.4 lakh and Rs 3.8 lakh, respectively. Officials said they were charging approximately Rs 300 per connection and a rate of Rs 11 per unit, as against the authorised Rs 7.5 per unit of the discom. The department confiscated wires, meters and distribution infrastructure installed by both Chatru and Rampal and initiated action against them. They are in the process of registering FIRs, officials said.The raids had triggered massive protests after several homes went without power and water for more than two to three days. Many blamed the discom for overreach as the homes on the floodplains were registered by govt.“The anti-power theft drive on the floodplains has been suspended as senior officials are in talks in Lucknow over the matter,” PVVNL chief engineer Sanjay Kumar Jain said. Power department executive engineer Vaibhav Mishra told TOI that they were waiting for further instructions.Meanwhile, 38kw power theft was detected in Dadri, Sarfabad and Jalalpur areas and FIRs were lodged against 14 people on Wednesday.
