Mumbai: MHADA colony residents left in the dark over unpaid power bills

A pitch-dark street near the MHADA colony. Pic/Rajesh Gupta

The electricity supply to over 47 street lights in MHADA colony, Mulund, has been cut off due to unpaid bills by the ward office. Residents report that all 47 street lights have been inactive for the past six days, owing to outstanding electricity bills amounting to Rs 16 lakh. While an MSEB official alleges non-payment by the BMC since last year, the BMC denies any such negligence, asserting that all bills have been duly settled.

"We use our mobile torches on the road as no streetlights are functioning. The BMC says that there is no bill pending, however when we asked the MSEB they said that they have written multiple letters to the BMC regarding the non-payment of bills worth Rs 16 lakh and we continue to suffer every evening due to their internal conflicts. We have a population of 10,000 people in the colony and senior citizens are the worst hit," said Ravi Naik, President of the MHADA Colony Society Association.

MSEB's letter

"I called the MSEB official and he stated that there is a non-payment of bills by the BMC. When I contacted the BMC official, he gave no satisfactory answer," Naik added. According to the locals, the colony is near a creek and they often spot snakes. "Women's and children's safety is a prime concern due to the non-functional street lights. We are scared that thieves might snatch chains," said a resident of MHADA colony.

"We are roaming in the colony with our mobile phone torches. We are scared that we will step on snakes or other animals," said Senal Jadhav, a resident of the MHADA colony. "There has been no payment done by the BMC since August 2023. We had multiple meetings and have written letters to the concerned department and they have not replied to any of the letters. We had given a notice to the MHADA 24 hours before cutting the street lights electricity," said Deepak Jadhav, Additional Executive Engineer of Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB), Mulund.

In response, a T Ward official said there is no pending bill and the bill they are stating is an old one. "This is an old bill which was not paid. It's a 4-5-year-old bill. Certain procedure has to be followed to pay old bills," said the T ward official on condition of anonymity.