With the focus shifting to detect power theft, the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) has earned Rs 60.64 crore through detecting 8,563 cases of power theft between April 2011 and March 2012.
The collection included the assessment levy of Rs 53.63 crore and the compounding charges of Rs 70.22 crore.
According to TANGEDCO sources, the 18 anti-power theft squads and 40 ex-servicemen squad of the enforcement wing inspected 1,69,198 connections and found that 8,563 were found to be involved in theft. As much as 4.68 crore units of electricity have been stolen during this period.
“There is a 7.5 times increase in detection of theft cases between 2000-01 and 2011-12. In the same period, number of cases detected has increased from 1,111 to 8,563 thereby pushing the revenue from Rs 8.20 crore to Rs 60.64 crore,” an official said.
The Chennai division of the enforcement wing detected 2,246 cases, which is the most, while the Madurai and Coimbatore division detected 2,155 and 2,106 cases respectively.
The 40 ex-servicemen squads formed as per the poll promise of chief minister Jayalalithaa have detected 8254 cases and levied a penalty of Rs 19.74 crore during the year 2011-12.
The squad collected Rs 16.33 crore as provisional assessment and Rs 3.41 crore as compounding charges.
Apart from these squads, inter-disciplinary teams each headed by electrical inspectors of the concerned districts, and accompanied by the deputy tahsildars, detected 210 instances of theft of energy and have levied Rs 71 lakh as fines.