MUMBAI: Reliance Energyhas shut down power supply of 3,250 consumers of Siddharth colony slum in Chembur. The power cutcontinues for an hour now, and there is no untoward incident so far although residents have come out to discuss about the issue. 

The outage at the slum is due to non-payment of electricity bills amounting to Rs 63 crore for a period of over ten years. Local activists warned that it would be difficult to switch off electricity supply of the entire slum as the residents may come on the road to protest. "It is a sensitive slum pocket of Mumbai,'' said local activist Rajkumar Sharma. 

A Reliance Energy spokesperson said: “Despite several notices, offers of payment through installments, and token disconnections, these residents have not paid their bills, resulting in arrears mounting to Rs. 63 crore in over ten years. Such non-payment results in higher tariffs for other customers of the electricity distribution company, nearly 70% of whom come from economically weaker sections, who are effectively cross-subsidizing customers not paying their dues."