A Vasai-Virar smart meter protest is scheduled to block the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway at Shirsad Phata on September 7, after political parties in the city united against alleged sharp increases in electricity bills and the replacement of existing meters without consumers’ prior consent.
The protest will be held outside K.T. Resort at Shirsad Phata, according to a decision taken at an all-party meeting chaired by Vasai-Virar City Municipal Corporation Mayor Ajiv Patil on Wednesday. Leaders and workers from the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Lal Bavta attended the meeting, Loksatta reported.
Residents have alleged that electricity bills have risen substantially, in some cases doubling, after Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited, or Mahavitaran, began replacing older electricity meters with new smart meters across Vasai-Virar. The report said residents are also objecting to the replacement of meters without their prior permission.
The allegations were discussed during the meeting, where participants decided to organise a highway blockade and submit a memorandum to senior Mahavitaran officials. The memorandum will seek the immediate withdrawal of the decision to install the smart meters, according to the report.
Mayor Ajiv Patil said residents were facing difficulties because of higher electricity bills linked by them to the smart meters. He said political parties had joined the protest to oppose what they described as arbitrary action by Mahavitaran and to press the government to address consumer grievances.
Kiran Chendvankar, district organiser of the women’s wing of the Shiv Sena’s Thackeray faction, said increased bills were creating difficulties for working-class and middle-class households, particularly those dependent on limited incomes. She appealed to local women to participate in the protest.
Congress general secretary Dr Dinesh Kamble alleged that meters were being replaced without consumers’ consent and that residents were receiving excessive bills. He said the September 7 agitation would challenge the smart-meter installation programme and the billing complaints raised by residents.
The report did not include a response from Mahavitaran on the allegations concerning meter replacement, billing levels or the proposed protest. The next scheduled development is the highway blockade and the submission of the memorandum to senior Mahavitaran officials on September 7.
