Yogi govt launches Bijli Mitra initiative to stop electricity theft in UP

In a novel initiative to stop electricity theft in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led government has launched Bijli Mitra. The Bijli Mitra link has been introduced on Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) website, which will enable people to report electricity thefts to the UPPCL without disclosing their identities so that the culprits could be brought to book.

It is notable that the state government is taking strict measures to stop electricity theft along with providing uninterrupted power supply to every family. Recently, the government has started a campaign to identify people with illegal electricity connections and give them legal connections and Bijli Mitra is part of this drive.

Chairman of UPPCL, M Devaraj said that until now complainants were required to give their mobile phone numbers, names of the DISCOM and the substation for reporting a theft to the UPPCL through the link and chatbot available on UPPCL's website and therefore people were reluctant to lodge a complaint.

This unique initiative aims at removing these inconveniences for the complainant and detecting power theft while maintaining his privacy. The corporation management is trying to get maximum information about power theft from people so that those involved could be caught and the interests of consumers could be protected.

Complainants can give information using the Bijli Mitra link 'bijlimitra.uppcl.org' by visiting the homepage of the corporation's website (www.upenergy.in) to reveal the address of power theft. As soon as one clicks on the link, the page for the complaint will open. In this, the name of the person involved in the electricity theft (if available) has to be entered.

In the next column, people will have to mention the address of the place of theft of electricity. After this, one has to enter the name of the district. Following this in the next column, other details like landmarks, and information about power theft (if available) will have to be given.

The other column will also have the facility to upload photos and videos, if available. As soon as one enters the captcha code, the department will receive the complaint and an investigation will begin and legal action will be taken against the culprit.

Earlier, the Yogi government had taken the initiative to provide electricity connection to the people using electricity without a connection as per the rules. In order to make this campaign a success, UPPCL Chairman M Devraj issued an order at the departmental level to identify all the families without electricity connection and provide them with the same.

According to government data, there are a total of 3.27 crore electricity consumers in the five distribution corporations under UPPCL. The total number of connections for domestic use is 2.88 crore. Looking at the population of the state, it is clear that the number of total domestic electricity connections is less in relation to the total number of households. That is why the government has taken this decision.