Chennai, Sept 17:
The Tamil Nadu government has allowed domestic electricity connections to houses measuring up to 250 sq ft constructed on poramboke land, without insisting on a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the authorities, subject to certain conditions.
According to a government order, the decision was taken following requests from the public seeking electricity connections to houses on poramboke land. The Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) chairman has been authorised to provide domestic connections to eligible houses without an NOC.
However, the concession will not apply to houses located on water bodies, grazing land, mandaveli (common grazing/open land), Forest Department land, military-controlled areas belonging to the Centre, Railway land, patta land belonging to religious institutions and temple poramboke land.
The connections will be classified under the low-tension domestic tariff category IA (3)-Poramboke, and applicants will be charged the normal domestic electricity tariff. Applications must be submitted online using Form 1 prescribed under the Tamil Nadu Electricity Distribution Code.
Applicants will have to submit an indemnity bond in Form 6 (Annexure III) and pay twice the normal security deposit. All charges relating to providing the electricity connection will be collected in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Applicants must also submit an undertaking on non-judicial stamp paper stating that the electricity connection can be disconnected at any time if the government requires the land or if any issue arises in the future. They must acknowledge that they may be evicted from the land.
The order makes it clear that obtaining an electricity connection will not confer any permanent or absolute right over the land. Applicants must also declare that their houses are not located on prohibited categories of poramboke land, including water bodies, grazing land or mandaveli.
Before providing the connection, the concerned section officer must verify through the Tamil Nilam website that the house is not situated on any prohibited category of poramboke land.
Following the government order, the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission will be informed to make necessary amendments to Regulation 27(12) of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Distribution Code and create a separate tariff category for these connections.
To prevent misuse of the scheme, the TANGEDCO chairman has been directed to submit a detailed report to the government once every three months, giving taluk-wise and district-wise details of the number of electricity connections provided under the scheme.