Chandigarh: Congress MLA and former IAS officer Balwinder Singh Dhaliwal on Tuesday questioned the Punjab govt’s handling of electricity billing after it acknowledged that incorrect bills were issued to 63,000 consumers, demanding accountability for the errors.Dhaliwal said Punjab has around 78 lakh electricity consumers and asked who would be held responsible if billing errors affected such a large number of households.He said some families living abroad had received bills for locked houses, while others had been issued bills covering three months because bills were not generated on time. “How can an ordinary consumer be declared a defaulter when the department itself failed to issue the bill on time?” he asked.Dhaliwal also alleged that some consumers who should have received zero bills under the 300-unit free electricity scheme were instead being asked to pay accumulated amounts. He claimed some families were being forced to borrow money or sell jewellery to clear the bills.He also questioned the govt and PSPCL over recovery of outstanding dues from govt departments and offices. Referring to a Aug 13 letter issued by PSPCL CMD Basant Garg to all divisions on recovery of pending dues, Dhaliwal asked what action had been taken against govt departments.“Why is strict action being taken only against ordinary consumers?” he asked.
