The Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) has sought an independent probe into accusations of power theft and corruption in the Byrnihat Industrial area in Ri Bhoi,
in a letter addressed to the Secretary of Power department, MeECL Chairman-cum-Managing Director, Arunkumar Kembhavi stated that a vigilance team of the corporation had detected a remote-controlled device installed in M/s Sai Prakash Industries for bypassing the meters and action was taken instantly against the industry by way of filing an FIR and serving a provisional compensation bill of Rs 3,48,69,143.
“I had placed my appreciation for the officer on record who led the team. Subsequently, when it was observed that the provisional compensation bill served was unusually high, the Director, Distribution as an appellate authority for vigilance had at his level convened a meeting with the CE Distribution, CE Commercial and ACE Eastern Zone and recommended for waiving of 50% compensation and withdrawal of FIR based on the legal opinion of the law officer. The undersigned had approved the same,” he wrote in the letter.
On January 25, Kembhavi had received anonymous information about power theft in the Byrnihat area.
“When we reached Rajabagan SS, we found that only one home guard and one linesman were present and no technical person (JE and above) was available. I asked for the register of load-shedding and log book details of incoming power but nothing was available and no record was maintained. The infrastructure was in a pitiable condition. The lineman told me that not even a single light bulb is there in the actual substation area and at night time they are forced to use torchlight to identify any defects…
“For some industries, monthly billing is being done based on the injection meter installed at SS but when I checked the meters, all meter boxes were opened and terminal boxes (TBs) were also sealed but inside the TBs, input and output cables were shorted using a loose strip. The same modus operandi was adopted in most of the meters installed in the SS,” Kembhavi said.