Khammam: Gruha Jyothi dampens contract electricity bill collector’s livelihood

According to the bill collectors associations there has been a drastic fall in the income of the bill collectors after the introduction of the scheme.

Khammam: Gruha Jyothi Scheme which the Congress government introduced has affected the livelihood of the contract electricity bill collectors across the State.

According to the bill collectors associations there has been a drastic fall in the income of the bill collectors after the introduction of the scheme. The contract bill collectors are paid on a piece rate basis for the bills they collected from electricity consumers under each distribution company.

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As Gruha Jyothi bills are zero bills and the consumers need not pay for electricity consumption up to 200 units, the payment for bill collectors from such zero bills has also become zero. According to Stambhadri Electricity Mutually Aided Society, a body of the contract bill collectors in Khammam, zero bills are being issued to about 80 to 90 consumers in villages.

There are around 650 bill collectors working on contract basis under different Discoms in the State. The bill collectors are now unable to earn a minimum income to sustain their families due to zero bills, complained the society president B Krishnaiah.

For instance, in Kamepalli mandal in the district there are 3000 to 4000 electricity connections. The bill collectors who were paid for all those bills in the past but now they are getting paid for around 180 to 200 non-Gruha Jyothi bills.

The bill collectors are paid Rs 2.75 per bill they collected through handheld bill machines in rural areas and Rs 2 for online bill collection in the towns.

Each contract bill collector used to earn Rs 15, 000 per month prior to the introduction of Gruha Jyothi scheme. With the issuing of zero bills per month income has come down to Rs 1500 to 1000, Krishnaiah told Telangana Today.

He wanted the State government to recognise the contract bill collectors working as electricity revenue offices (EROs) as artisans and accommodate them in the electricity department. He said they recently met Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka and took the issue to his notice.

Krishnaiah stated that the wages for bill collectors have not increased in the past 15 years. The government should take immediate steps to save the families of the bill collectors, who actively took part in the Telangana Statehood movement, he added.