Jammu, Aug 03: Apni Party on Thursday staged a protest demonstration at Shaheedi Chowk in Jammu against the installation of pre-paid meters, and “excess” electricity bills in Jammu and Kashmir.
The protest was organized by Apni Trade Union J&K President Ajaz Kazmi with other party leaders and workers, the party said in a statement. While shouting slogans against the installation of the smart meters in Jammu and Kashmir, the Apni Party leaders demanded its rollback and end to the harassment of the electricity consumers in the UT.
Addressing the protesters, Ajaz Kazmi said, “It appears to be a scam in which the already working electricity poles mounted with meters worth Rs 5 lakhs in 1700 crore poles in Jammu City’s 1, 2 and 3rd division under RAPDRP scheme in the last three years.”
Kazmi expressed surprise over why Rs 1000 crores are being spent to install 3 lakh smart meters despite knowing that earlier meters mounted on poles are working fine and all these have automatic reading features which do not require a meter reader.
“The contract of installing meters is being sub-let to other experienced contractors, and surprisingly, these smart meters are not being tested at the time of installation. It shows that transparency has not been adopted by the concerned agency,” he said while questioning the PDD.
He said there is growing concern over the excess electricity bills being charged to the consumers. The PDD has adopted no transparency about units being consumed on an hourly basis, he alleged.
He further said, “Along with smart meters, the meters are being converted into prepaid mode without taking consumers into confidence. The consumers who are not defaulters should pay in pre-paid mode. Hence, the PDD has not adopted any reason for the installation or charging of bills from the consumers. The elderly are not using smartphones, so how will they recharge these meters. On the other side, the dismantled meters are lying rotting on roads and have not been utilized and it is a waste of government exchequers.”
