Small industry up in arms against PSPCL raids

Kuldip Bhatia

Ludhiana, May 21

Small and tiny industrial units, mostly located in the Janta Nagar and other mix land use areas, have raised a banner of revolt against what they term as the reign of terror let loose by the enforcement wing of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). “In the name of enforcement, the small and tiny units are being harassed, and in the process the new Congress government is getting a bad name,” said president of the Janta Nagar Small Scale Manufacturers Association Jaswinder Singh Thukral.

On the basis of information obtained under the Right to Information Act, Thukral asserted that during the past two months, the Additional Superintending Engineer, Enforcement -2 of the PSPCL, had checked as many as 160 connections and of these 90 cases of unauthorised use of electricity (UUE) were made out.

He further claimed that information provided by the PSPCL under the RTI Act had also revealed that in certain cases, the operational divisions or subdivisions had refused to accept the recommendations of enforcement wing to make out cases of the UUE where the consumption trends were found normal, or rather on a lower side.

“This fact is ample proof that the enforcement wing of the PSPCL is out to harass the small and tiny sector of industry which is not in keeping with the promises made by the Congress prior to the Assembly elections,” said Thukral, adding that the small-scale industry had welcomed the formation of Congress government in the state in the hope that the government would take steps to promote the recession-hit industry and the small and tiny units would get some relief.

Thukral said complaints against the highhandedness of the enforcement wing of the PSPCL had been lodged with the CMD of PSPCL, the Chief Minister and the Punjab Power Minister Rana Gurjit Singh. Making it clear that that the industry would not take it lying down, he said if remedial measures were not taken to put an end to this harassment, the industry would resort to an agitation against the power utility as well as the Punjab Government.

Additional Superintending Engineer, Enforcement-2, MP Singh, however, rubbished the allegations levelled by the industrial body, saying the small and tiny sector of industry was not being targeted in any manner and the allegations were motivated. He said the checking of electricity meters, especially those where commercial or

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