Haryana slaps Rs 88.78 lakh penalty for power theft by staff

Chandigarh, May 1 (IANS) The Haryana government has cracked the whip on power theft by government employees, including officers, leading to detection of 343 power theft cases and slapping of Rs 88.78 lakh penalty, a spokesman said here on Monday.

A total of 504 government residential premises across the state were raided by the operation and vigilance wings of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN), the spokesman said.

The raids took place over the past two days and as many as 330 meters were picked up on suspicion of having been tampered with.

The raids were part of a campaign to curb power theft, including that by government employees and officers.

"Government employees involved in the theft of electricity would be penalised and departmental action would be initiated against them by the department concerned under the Electricity Act," the spokesman said.

The maximum power theft cases were detected in Ambala circle (Rs 14.6 lakh), followed by Faridabad circle (Rs 10.86 lakh), Kaithal circle (Rs 9.51 lakh) and Gurugram circle (Rs 8.37 lakh).

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