Electricity denied, tribe takes fight to court

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat high court on Monday sought a response from a power distribution company, the Ahmedabad district collector, and a residential society after 95 families of the Rajgond tribe sought HC directions for electricity connections to their households. They claimed they have been living in the city without electricity connections for 45 years.
The petitioners are residents of Ramgadh ni Chawl near Ghodasar Lake in the city. In their petition filed through advocate Yatin Soni, they claimed their families have been residing in this chawl for over four decades without basic amenities: power, water, and drainage connections. They submitted that they applied to the power company for connections, but their requests were rejected due to objections raised by Parul Tenements Society. The power company insisted they should get an NOC from the society.
The petitioners further stated that the land on which they are residing originally belonged to Parul Tenements Society and Bhupendra Thakor, whose father let them reside on the plot. However, following a breach of condition imposed by the govt, the revenue records now show the govt as the owner of the land. Even during the transition of land ownership, their occupation of the land remained unaffected.
The petitioners contended that since the revenue records reveal that the govt is the owner of the land, the objection raised by the society against power connections is illegal. They made a representation to the district collectorate, and the deputy collector called the power company's officials, who informed that the society was objecting to the supply of power to their households.
The petition reads, "In spite of multiple efforts/requests made to the Respondent No-1 (Torrent) for getting electricity connections, the respondents are not providing electricity connections at their residences, though in several similar cases, Torrent Power has provided electricity and thereby violated Article 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India. Even otherwise, to have an electricity connection at their residence is the fundamental right of the petitioners."
After a preliminary hearing, Justice Aniruddha Mayee issued notice and posted further hearing on this issue on March 24.