HYDERABAD, Dec 10: The district government and Hesco have constituted 18 joint reconciliation committees - four at taluka level and 14 sub-committees (one each) for Hesco sub-divisions – to resolve the issue of detection bills.

The committees were formed at a meeting of Hesco officers presided over by District Nazim Kanwar Naveed Jamil at his office here on Friday. DCO Mohammad Hussain Syed, Hesco chief executive Maqbool Khwaja, superintending engineer of Hesco circle-I and II and other officers attended the meeting.

The committee at the Hesco sub-division level will comprise union council nazims concerned and the Hesco SDO and committees at taluka level will include the taluka nazim and the Hesco executive engineer with supporting officers.

The committees will hold quarterly meetings or as and when required to decide complaints of detection bills and recommend action if it found any wrongdoing by Hesco employees while issuing detection bills to consumers.

The meeting also decided to set up complaint centres at each union council to receive feedback.

The nazim told the meeting that since meters had been shifted from consumers’ houses to electricity poles under the Hesco custody, there was no justification to issue detection bills on the pretext of theft or line losses because coverage of line losses was the responsibility of the management concerned which was being shifted to consumers.

The meeting endorsed a suggestion of the DCO to set up camps at various localities of backward areas to provide one-window service to people and legalize their connections by issuing demand notes and meters on the spot. This would not only minimize line losses but also increase revenue of Hesco, the meeting said.

Responding to another suggestion by the DCO, the Hesco management agreed to segregate meters and accounts sections between provincial and district government departments and replicate it in other districts also to resolve the matter of liabilities easily. The management also agreed to shift high-voltage transmission line from the Wadhu Wah route to another safer place to avoid any eventuality.

The nazim asked the management of Hesco to work out a strategy for laying an underground cable network in Hyderabad and take the station road as a model for this work to remove electricity poles from narrow roads.

He also asked the Hesco management to complete ongoing work of installation of alternative feeders at each pumping station of Wasa with switchover system to ensure regular water supply and sewage disposal through substitute lines, especially during failure of power of other line.