Hapur farmer charges Rs 128 crore for electricity bill
In what can be termed as huge negligence on behalf of the electricity department in Uttar Pradesh, a man has been charged an exorbitant electricity bill of more than Rs. 128 crore. The man, hailing from Hapur, says the department has even cut the supply to his home as he was unable to pay the amount.
According to news agency ANI, Shamim, who stays with his wife in Chamri village in Hapur, had approached the electricity department to rectify the error but was told by officials to pay the bill.
The exact amount of the electricity bill is Rs 128, 45, 95,444 for a home connection of 2 kilowatt.
Talking to ANI, Shamim said, "We were told they won't supply electricity to our house unless we pay the complete amount."
Shamim also accused the electricity department of handing him over the bill of the entire city. He also says he gets an average monthly bill of only about Rs. 700 or Rs. 800.
Commenting on his electricity usage, Shamim's wife Khairu Nisha said, "We only use fan and light. How can the amount be so high? We are poor. How we will pay such a large amount."
Meanwhile, an electrical engineer with the electricity department said it was "no big deal", adding that the "technical fault" will be rectified once the bill is sent back to the department.
"This must be a technical fault. If they provide us with the bill we will issue them an updated one after rectifying the technical fault in the system. This is no big deal. Technical faults do take place," Ram Sharan, the engineer, told ANI.
This is not the first time the electricity department has handed over such heavy bill to a consumer.
Earlier in January this year, a man from Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj was sent an electricity bill for Rs. 23 crore. His home electricity connection was for a total of 2 kilowatts.
In May last year, a vegetable vendor in Maharashtra's Aurangabad had committed suicide after he was handed over an electricity bill of Rs. 8.64 lakh. On this, the electricity department had said the error occurred because of a missing decimal point.
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Video: UP man charged Rs 128 crore electricity bill
