Jaisalmer: The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Jaisalmer, on Tuesday held the electricity department guilty of “serious negligence” after a house caught fire when a domestic power line came in contact with a nearby agricultural high-tension (HT) line, and ordered it to pay Rs 4.08 lakh in compensation.The bench, comprising Commission chairman and presiding officer Pawan Kumar Ojha and member Ramesh Kumar Gaud, directed the department to pay Rs 3.95 lakh for property loss, Rs 10,000 for mental agony and Rs 3,000 towards litigation expenses. The amount must be paid within 45 days, failing which interest at 9% per annum will apply on the entire sum.Commission private secretary Sudhansh Soni said the complainant, Rugh Singh of Thaiyat village in Jaisalmer, was a regular consumer who consistently paid electricity bills. During the incident, the domestic connection line came into contact with the Basanpir agricultural HT line, allowing high-tension current to pass into the house and triggering a fire.The blaze destroyed household items including a refrigerator, cooler, flour mill, bed, clothes, plastic chairs and foodgrain stocks—50 sacks of jowar and 40 sacks of bajra. One sheep was also electrocuted.Soni said the complainant immediately informed the electricity department and police, and submitted documentary evidence including bills, photographs, official reports and a postmortem report of the sheep. The Commission said the evidence conclusively established negligence, reiterating that ensuring safe power supply and compensating for losses is the department’s responsibility.
