UP officials to face salary cut if street lights on in day

In a move aimed at curbing waste of electricity, Uttar Pradesh Urban Development Minister Mohammad Azam Khan Tuesday warned that if street lights were found on in the morning, deductions would be made from salaries of civic agency officials.

Ordering that no power bills would be paid for street lights unless he was informed of a blanket closure of lights in the morning, the minister warned officials that they would be held accountable if electricity was wasted.

Class IV employees will be exempt from the measure, he added. Azam Khan said that this direction has been sent to all city commissioners and executive engineers with a message to ensure prompt compliance lest they wanted their salaries cut.

Following the orders of the minister, the urban development department stopped payment of all pending power bills and said no payments will be made till heads of municipal corporations give a written assurance that no power was being wasted.

Azam Khan also asked the principal secretary of the urban development department to apprise him of the electricity usage and bills paid of all municipal corporations across the state in the last five years.