Four condominiums in Gurugram may face blackout

GURUGRAM: Four condominiums in Gurgaon and two in Faridabad are likely to face outages from Tuesday, when the sanction to use diesel generator (DG) sets from the now-defunct EPCA lapses.

The Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), put in place by the SC-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority to tackle air pollution during winter, had kicked in from October 15. However, a total of 19 housing societies that were reliant on gensets for electricity had been granted exemption till November 30 from the ban on them.

While 13 builders have got electricity connections, six societies — Mahendra Homes DSS 4, Siddharta NCR ONE in Sector 95, SS Group in Sector 84 and DLF The Crest in Sector 54 of Gurgaon; and RPS Savana and Kunjeans Height in Faridabad Sector 88 — have failed to complete the process. However, they may get connections in the next two days.

According to the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), while DLF Crest has completed 90% of the feeder work, the other three Gurgaon societies, as well as the two in Faridabad, are yet to submit bank guarantees. Officials expect the builders to provide these by Tuesday or Wednesday.

“Nine societies in Gurgaon have completed the pending infrastructure work. Two of these, IREO Skyon in Sector 60 and IREO Victory Valley in Sector 67, have submitted an affidavit requesting an increase in load and saying they will not use DG sets from now on. The other seven societies have been given fresh connections. In Faridabad, two societies have been given fresh connections while the other two have some pending work,” said a DHBVN official.

Chief engineer K C Aggarwal said, “We have given fresh connections to all those builders who have fulfilled the requirements. The remaining ones will be given connections once they complete the pending infrastructure work and submit the required documents.”

Meanwhile, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) said a report will be sought from DHBVN on how many of the societies that had sought exemption took new power connections. The builders’ claims that they have stopped using diesel gensets will be verified too. If found false, action will be taken, an official said.

While additional chief secretary (power) T C Gupta could not be contacted, DHBVN managing director Balkar Singh, who has recently taken charge, said he said he will look into the matter.