Maharashtra consumer commission orders solar pump for farmer after 7-year delay

A consumer commission in Maharashtra has pulled up the state power utility for withholding a 69-year-old farmer's deposit for more than seven years without providing him a connection, news agency Press Trust of India reported. The commission directed the utility to install a solar agricultural pump on his farm within 60 days.

The Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Nagpur also ordered the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) to pay the farmer Rs 35,000 for mental harassment and litigation costs.

In its October 22 order, the commission held MSEDCL guilty of deficiency in service. "An ordinary farmer, despite paying the amount, had to follow up for several years for the connection and finally had to approach the commission," it said.

The farmer, a resident of Parshivani tehsil in Nagpur district, had applied for a 3 HP solar agricultural pump connection for a well on his 1.83-hectare farm at Mauza Dundakhairi. Following a demand note from MSEDCL, he deposited Rs 16,560 on July 10, 2019.

According to PTI, the farmer said the utility failed to install the pump despite repeated follow-ups and a legal notice issued in January 2021. He filed a complaint with the consumer commission in February 2021.

MSEDCL said the farmer had submitted two letters, in December 2019 and September 2020, stating that he no longer wanted a solar pump and was instead seeking a regular three-phase electricity connection.

The farmer, however, said he did not know English. He alleged that MSEDCL staff had misused his signature to prepare the letters and pressured him to withdraw his complaint.

The commission pointed to contradictions in the utility's conduct and records. It said MSEDCL had accepted the deposit in July 2019 but had not provided the connection or given a satisfactory explanation for the delay.

The panel said that if the farmer had opted out of the solar scheme in December 2019, as claimed by MSEDCL, the utility should have refunded his money and closed the application.

"Instead, MSEDCL accepted his online vendor selection (Tata Power Solar Limited) in May 2020 and conducted a joint site inspection in September 2020, proving the utility itself treated the application as live," the commission said.

Considering these facts, the commission held that MSEDCL's actions amounted to deficiency in service under the relevant provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

It directed MSEDCL to provide the 3 HP solar pump connection within 60 days without charging the farmer any amount beyond the Rs 16,560 paid in 2019. The utility was also ordered to pay Rs 25,000 for mental harassment and Rs 10,000 as litigation costs within 30 days. If it fails to do so, the amount will carry annual interest of 9 per cent.

The commission, however, rejected the farmer's claim for Rs 24.93 lakh in damages over the alleged drying up of his cotton crops in 2019 and 2020 due to a lack of water. It said his projected yield of 20 quintals per acre was speculative and was not supported by independent evidence establishing that the crop had failed solely because the power connection was not provided.

MSEDCL must install the solar pump within 60 days and pay Rs 35,000 in compensation and costs, while the farmer's claim for crop-loss damages has been rejected.- Ends