My friend and neighbour in Jagjit Nagar, a locality near Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh, is a dental surgeon, Dr RK Bali. Dr Bali, who is a Padmashri, is on the panel of surgeons to the President of India, and lives in Delhi. He got the electrical wiring in his cottage here replaced in order to upgrade the load to the present requirement.
Then he phoned a junior engineer of Subathu subdivision of the Himachal Pradesh Electricity Board and requested him to carry out an inspection to ensure that the wiring and new electrical fittings were in order. The officer duly came three days later, inspected the premises, found everything in order and advised Dr Bali to apply for a certain kilo wattage of load extension.
A few days later, a notice arrived for Dr Bali to visit the SDO’s office within a week or else the power supply would be disconnected. Since Dr Bali was busy, he requested me to look into the matter and apply for extension of load as required. I got the test report made and sent it to him in Delhi for his signature and received it back without delay.
Meanwhile, the SDO had got the power supply disconnected despite there being a credit balance of about Rs2000 in Dr Bali’s account with the SDO’s office. On the very next working day, I went to the SDO’s office – 25 km away – to submit the documents. The SDO was not in the office. I requested the head clerk, a Sikh gentleman, to accept the application and the stipulated fee. He refused and instead showed me calculations arriving at Rs 75,000, the purported penalty being levied on Dr Bali for theft of power. I nearly fainted on hearing the word “theft” used in connection with a thorough gentleman like Dr Bali.
But, in the same breath, the clerk assured me of help in striking a “deal” with the SDO. No amount of explanation on my part would satisfy him. I waited for the SDO for three hours and finally left. I phoned Dr Bali and told him everything.
A few days later, Dr Bali arrived from Delhi and we went to Subathu again. Dr Bali requested the SDO to take a positive view of the matter. The man was extremely insulting. He refused the request with the reply, “Main jo likh deta hoon use koi nahin badal sakta, aap se jo hota hai kar lo.” Finally, Dr Bali took out his visiting card and handed it over, saying he would pay the entire amount under protest and contest the matter later in the appropriate forum. As the SDO looked at the card, his manner transformed. Needless to say, Dr Bali did not have to pay the hefty “penalty”.
Not everyone can be so lucky. When will we be free of these sharks lurking all around us?
GK Vasudeva
Jagjit Nagar, Kasauli
Solan
HP
