The licensee is entitled to charge the consumer the cost of the transformer in accordance with the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (Recovery of Expenditure for providing New Connection) Regulation, 2005. A person seeking an electric connection for the purpose of extracting water from the underground must comply with the requirements of the West Bengal Ground Water Resources (Management, Control and Regulation) Act, 2005 and Rules framed thereunder.

BHASKAR BHATTACHARYA, J. :- This mandamus-appeal is at the instance of the respondent in a writ-application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and is directed against the order dated June 11, 2003 passed by a learned single Judge of this Court by which his lordship disposed of the writ-application filed by the respondent before us by quashing the quotation dated October 3, 2002 being Annexure P-4 to the writ application with further direction upon the appellants to issue fresh quotation to the respondent without demanding any amount towards the cost of the transformer and other sub-station equipments within two weeks from the date of communication of such order.

2. The facts giving rise to filing of the writ-application may be summed up thus :

a) The writ-petitioner with an intention to get electrical connection for running his submersible pump set fitted with a shallow tube well obtained necessary clearance certificate from the Senior Geologist, Geological Division-II, Suri, attached to the State Geological Directorate on February 6, 1998.

b) Thereafter temporary electric connection was given to the petitioner after the payment of the amount demanded by the West Bengal State Electricity Board. The petitioner subsequently applied for permanent connection for effective irrigation of his land as well as the neighbouring lands.

c) As the State Electricity Board took no step for giving permanent connection, he in the past, filed another writ-application alleging inaction on the part of the Board when a learned Judge of this Court disposed of such application by directing the Board to consider such application in accordance with law within a specified period.

d) Pursuant to such order passed by this Court in the past, the Board gave a quotation for depositing a sum of Rs. 61,859/- being the amount including the costs of the transformer. According to the writ-petitioner, such cost of transformer is to be borne by the Board and not by the consumer.

3. The learned single Judge by the order impugned herein has accepted the contention of the writ petitioner and has held that the transformer is a part of the transmission system and as such, the consumer is not obliged to pay the cost of such transformer. In arriving at such conclusion, His Lordship relied upon the two decisions of this Court passed in the year 2000 and 2002 respectively.

4. Being dissatisfied, the Board has come up with the present mandamus-appeal.

5. Mr. Panja, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants has at the very outset submitted that the learned single Judge erred in law in relying upon those two decisions based on provisions contained in the Electricity Act of 1910 by totally overlooking the fact that Sections 43 and 46 of the Electricity Act, 2003 have brought about a total change of the earlier position and according to those provisions, the licensee is entitled to take the charge of the transformer from the consumer. In support of such contention, Mr. Panja relies upon the decisions of this Court in the cases of Sk. Based Ali v. W.B.S.E.B. and others reported in 2004 (2) CHN 222 and the Secretary, The West Bengal State Electricity Board v. Deb Kumar Jash reported in 2005 (4) CHN 24. Mr. Panja further submits that in exercise of power conferred under Section 46 read with Section 181 of the Electricity Act, the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission has already made the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission (Recovery of Expenditure for Providing New Connection) Regulation, 2005 laying down the guidelines for assessing the cost of transformer in this type of a case.

6. Mr. Panja next contends that during the pendency of this appeal, the West Bengal Legislature has enacted the West Bengal Ground Water Resources (Management, Control and Regulation) Act, 2005 and the Rules framed thereunder and without complying with the provisions contained therein, no electric connection can be given. Mr. Panja points out that the permiss