Power company demands Rs 1.2K for posting RTI reply!

6 May 2009
AHMEDABAD: Getting electricity bills much higher than the usual monthly due to a technical glitch is sure to get your blood pressure up.

Imagine how you’d feel if you enforce accountability from the power company under Right to Information (RTI) Act and are told you now have to shell out Rs 1,200 for postage!

This is the situation Shakun Nawab faced. Nawab demanded to know from Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Ltd (MGVCL) the number of customers, who had been charged similarly.

But, the company told him other customers are ‘third parties’ under RTI and to get their consent before disclosure of information he would have to pay Rs 1,200 towards postage charges. An indignant Nawab took the issue to Gujarat Information Commission (GIC). It held that asking an applicant to pay cost of correspondence to third parties is not only inconsistent, but contrary to RTI provisions.

However, it agreed with MGVCL’s stand that other customers have to be treated as third parties and their consent is required before releasing such information. GIC noted that being a major public utility, MGVCL needs to address issues such as excess billing and adjustments more effectively. Its customers shouldn't have to knock doors of RTI.

Nawab sought names and addresses of its customers, who were subjected to excess billing in September 2006, number of units overcharged, amount recovered and whether the excess amount had been refunded.

MGVCL replied, as a project of moving customers from two-monthly bills to monthly was underway, 100 customers were overcharged.

However, satisfactory remedial action was taken, it said. To this, Nawab replied, this was not true as he was a victim too. And, his grievances hadn't been redressed so far.

MGVCL then said, its outsourcing agency issued a bill for 124 units during August 2006, but due to technical problems, the data was missed or deleted. This had resulted in the excess billing.

GIC held that while explanations had been given to Nawab by MGVCL, calculations of how excess billing in his case was settled should be intimated to him for his satisfaction.
Source:- http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Ahmedabad/Power-company-demands-Rs-12K-for-posting-RTI-reply/articleshow/4488985.cms

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