VIJAY SHANTHI BUILDERS LIMITED Vs. TAMIL NADU ELECTRICITY GENERATION & DISTRIBUTION COMPANY LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the Learned Counsel for the Petitioner and the Learned Counsel for the Respondents.

(2.) The grievance of the petitioner is that the respondents TANGEDCO vide impugned letter dated 11.06.2018 demands demarcation of land for establishment of Sub-Station as a pre-condition to provide Electricity service connection to the dwelling units which were constructed by the petitioner under the residential project named as Boulevard Phase-II, Melakottaiyur Village. According to the petitioner, during the month of January 2010, they entered into a Joint Development Agreement with the owners of land, for developing an extent of 10 acres situated in Melakottaiyur Village in two Phases. The phase No.1 comprising of 469 of dwelling units [both flats and row house) plus two commercial shops, under the name and style of 'Park Avenue' and Phase No.2 comprising of 332 units (both flats and row houses), under the name and style 'Boulevard'. Totally 801 dwelling units and two commercial units constructed by the petitioner, after obtaining Planning Permission from the Directorate of Town and Country Planning, Chennai, vide approval in Ns.Ka.No.24096/2009/CP, dated 04.02.2010. At the time of obtaining planning permission for the building, the petitioner has intimated the respondent/TANGEDCO regarding the total requirement of energy estimated for all the 801 dwelling units and two commercial units, proposed to be developed in two phases.

(3.) According to the petitioner, they have informed the respondent that they may required about 4 Kilowatts per units/flats/houses/shops and that total demand will not exceed 4000 KW. The Petitioner completed the construction of Phase No.1 'Park Avenue' during the year 2013-2014 and obtained permanent electricity connection for all 469 units. As far as, Phase No.2 'Boulevard' is concerned, the petitioner has applied for and obtained permanent electricity connection for 83 dwelling units for the remaining 249 dwelling units, they required electricity service connections. The completion of Phase No.2 (Boulevard) was delayed due to shortage of construction material in the state. Therefore, the application for energising the units in Phase No.2, was made in March 2018, after completion of the construction in the year 2017. Only then, they came to know that the respondent/TANGEDCO has changed the method of assessment of demand to be calculated for each unit, as opposed to what was hitherto being done. The contention of the petitioner is that till 2017, the calculation for the purpose of determining total electricity demand for any project, was being taken as a sum total of demand for all units/flats/houses/shops in the said development, irrespective of the number of bedrooms in such units/plots/houses. Later, as per instruction of Chairman-cum-Managing Director of the TANGEDCO issued on 11.09.2017, while considering the demand for group housing projects, the assessment is to be made depending upon the size of the unit. As per instruction of Chairman-cum-Managing Director, dated 11.09.2017, permanent electricity demand requirement for each type of unit is to be assessed. The petitioner project comprising of 801 dwelling units, 2 commercial shops and common connections for common facilities in two Phases works out to more than 5 M.V.A.