- I Paid A Bribe
- 12 years ago
- 1552 views
A Well Planned Electricity Racket
- Electricity and Power Supply
- Meter Reading and Checking
- Paid INR 2,00,000
In 2008 my father registered a complaint that the electricity bills were amounting too low considering the consumption. However, Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) showed no interest in responding to the complaint. A guy from MSEB showed up in my society for "checking" the meters in 2012. He informs us that our meter reading is too slow. Then, without notifying anyone he takes the meter to the local MSEB branch. We get called after 2 days to the branch where they are supposedly testing the meter for the first time. The guy then starts opening the meter. Not surprisingly, the rebit seal turns out to be broken (which they say was how they found it installed). And it was very convenient for the guy to start with the side which was broken (otherwise it was impossible to notice). Inside the meter turns out a blue chip which slows down the meter. The MSEB people then prepare a report which says that even the sticker seals were tampered (which definitely was not true. The sticker seals were intact and the guy himself broke the seal while opening the meter). He convinces us to sign the report or that there would be police action and he explains how a simple "fine payment" can get ugly. He then takes us to another branch where he prepares a bill for the last two years (as per some rulebook). The assessment is full of jargons and he explains to us that we need not worry about how the tally came to 2 LAKHS but that there was no error in the assessment. He gave us the option to come up with the amount in 24 hours (acceptable only in CASH, please note) or that there would be an F.I.R. lodged against us for trying to utilize electricity illegally. I researched on some blogs and found out that this had happened to more than a few people at locations near Thane. Why should we pay for thing we did not do? Where is justice?