Ludhiana, Nov. 22 -- In just four days after the Punjab government scrapped the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) requirement on November 17, the power department in Ludhiana has witnessed a twofold rise in applications for new electricity connections across the district, officials familiar with the matter said.

According to the data, the department received around 1,105 applications in the last four days, marking one of the fastest jumps in recent months.

Officials said that many applications had previously been delayed or rejected because consumers could not submit mandatory documents like the NOC or an approved building plan. With the NOC requirement now waived, this backlog has quickly surfaced, fuelling the sudden spike in d...