HC directs Govt, TNEB to minimise power cut

Chennai, Sep 10: The Madras High Court today directed the State Government and the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board to minimise power cut in the state with immediate effect.

Disposing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition filed by a social worker S A N Vasigaran, the First Bench comprising Chief Justice A K Ganguly and Justice F M Ibrahim Kalifulla, directed the TNEB and the Energy Department to implement the government's regulatory order to tackle the power crisis without any lacuna.

The bench also directed the government and political parties in the state to curtail functions and meetings.

Submitting that the present power cut all over the state was only due to administrative in-efficiency, the petitioner said the government had recently announced power cut for eight hours besides unannounced power cut every day for more than eight hours.

The damage caused to the public due to the power cut cannot be compensated. It was also causing mental agony to the consumers, he contended.

He sought a direction to the government to deny permission for conducting any government functions, ministers meeting, public meetings by political parties and any other functions which consumes lot of electricity.

UNI