Through roofs, in drawing rooms: Delhi electric poles lose out to encroachment

Encroachment in the national capital is nothing new. But Delhi’s three discoms are now facing a new problem — residents have been extending their houses around electricity poles or using concrete power poles as support pillars. The rules of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) , a statutory body that formulates plans on electricity systems for the government, state that houses should maintain a distance of 2.5-3.7 metres in height and 1.2-2 metres in width based on voltage levels from an electricity pole.

Between 2019 and 2021, the three discoms, which distribute electricity to consumers in the capital, issued over 90,000 notices to residents, asking them to take corrective action. North Delhi comes under Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited, while South and Trans-Yamuna areas fall under the jurisdiction of BSES Rajdhani Power Ltd and BSES Yamuna Power Ltd, respectively.