Powerless against the power bill: Rs 70 lakh bill sent to Madhya Pradesh slum dweller; man hospitalised as BP shoots up | Bhopal News

BHOPAL: A 65-year-old man was hospitalised in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, after receiving an electricity bill of Rs 69.75 lakh.His blood pressure shot up on seeing the amount, and he had to be rushed to the hospital. He is among dozens of residents who have received similarly inflated bills following the installation of smart meters in the city.Murarilal Tiwari, a resident of Home Guard Road, lives with his wife and uses minimal electricity. His smart meter showed only 219 units consumed, yet the bill last month was over Rs 69 lakh.Despite submitting a written complaint, no investigation was carried out, and a penalty of Rs 1 lakh was added to his latest bill.Tiwari’s neighbour, Mahendra Singh Raghuvanshi, received a bill of Rs 68 lakh.

In slum areas like Agya Ram Colony, several labourer families with limited electricity usage have reported bills in lakhs. Many of them previously paid monthly bills of just Rs 100 to Rs 200.Residents allege that the smart meters were installed without prior notice or consent, and that complaints to the electricity department and local authorities have gone unanswered.According to officials from the electricity department, the inflated bills are the result of a software glitch in the billing system. They say that billing errors have been identified in around 15 cases.The smart meters were installed under a central government scheme aimed at ensuring accurate and transparent billing.