The provisions of the Electricity Act, 2003, and the West Bengal Ground Water Resources (Management, Control and Regulation) Act, 2005, are interconnected, and the distribution licensee cannot ignore the provisions of the latter statute while providing connections for submersible pumps.

ANIRUDDHA BOSE, J.

( 1 ) THIS batch of writ petitions relate to certain disputes arising out of applications for electricity made by mostly agriculturalists for energizing pumpsets for lifting water for cultivation purposes. These pumpsets have come to be known as submersible pumps in common parlance.

( 2 ) A three-fold connection process is being followed by the electricity companies connection. Initially, an application is required to be filed in the prescribed form on payment of stipulated fees, which at present, I have been informed is rupees one thousand. These applications are filed at the local sub-stations of the West Bengal State Electricity Board (at present, due to certain restructuring, this task is being performed by West Bengal Electricity Supply company Ltd.), whom I shall henceforth described the distribution licensee in this judgment. On filing of the application, as per the prevailing practice, the board issues a quotation informing the applicant the amount he is required to be deposited. In several cases, I find that the quotation includes the cost of a 10 kva transformer, as also charges for laying the line. On payment of this amount, and completion of certain infra-structural facilities, connection is actually effected.

( 3 ) WITH the laudable purpose of preventing over-extraction of ground water, the prevailing practice of the distribution licensee had been to require the individual applicant to obtain from the State Water Investigation Department a water availability certificate, which have come to be known as SWID certificate. The second condition which used to be imposed by the Board for the same purpose, was to ensure that there was a maximum distance of 200 meters between two submersible pumps. I shall refer to this norm henceforth as the minimum distance norm.

( 4 ) IN recent past, some of the applicants had complained against the practice of the distribution licensee to require them to make payment for transformers, but this controversy has been set at rest by a judgment of an Hon'ble Single judge of this Court in the case of Sk. Based Ali vs. W. B. S. E. B. , reported in 2004 (2) CHN 222. In this judgment upon construing various provisions of the electricity Act, 2003 (the "act" in short), it has been held that pending framing of proper Regulation by the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission, it shall be within the power or authority of the Board to charge the cost of installation of a transformer and also the cost of laying the cable and other apparatus for energising the transformer, provided such charges are reasonable.

( 5 ) THE nature of the complaints, made by the applicants in these writ petitions can be summarised broadly as follows:

a) The application forms in respect of supply of electricity in respect of submersible pumps are not being made available. b) Some of the writ petitioners have applied for connections, but not in the prescribed form which they claim were not available, and the grievance of the writ petitioners in this category of cases are delay in issuance of quotations vis-a-vis their applications/representations. c) Delay in effecting supply even after issuance of quotations and deposit made in pursuance thereof. d) Relying on a memorandum issued by the Chief Engineer of the Board bearing No. RE/dtw/113/s-2145/3 dated 18th September, 2006 addressed to the Zonal Managers/project Managers of the Board of different districts, it has been contended that the connection ought to be effected straightaway without insisting upon maintenance of the minimum distance norm and SWID certificate. e) The distribution licensee is effecting connection to a neighbouring cultivator in violation of the minimum distance norm.

( 6 ) HAVING regard to the fact that grievances of a large number of persons are involved in the present matters, and there are certain complexities also involved as regards implementations of certain provisions of the Electricity act, 2003, I requested Mr. Sob

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