Around 35 government departments in the Ludhiana central zone have collectively defaulted on over ₹277-crore electricity bills till October, adding to the woes of the already financially strained Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL).
The department of local government, which includes the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, leads the chart as it owes a staggering ₹147.85 crore. These dues are spread across various PSPCL divisions in Ludhiana and its neighbouring areas.
The largest share of this amount is pending at the PSPCL’s east circle, where the department owes ₹68.12 crore. Trailing this is the west circle with ₹65.05 crore in outstanding power bills.
Notably, the suburban circle, covering Adda Dakha, Jagraon, Raikot and Ahmedgarh, sees ₹10.03 crore pending from the local government department while the pending dues in the Khanna circle, which includes Amloh, Doraha and Sirhind, are ₹4.63 crore.
Second on the list is the department of water supply and sanitation, which owes ₹54.56 crore. The largest portion ( ₹28.39 crore) is from the Khanna circle. The pendency in suburban circle, west circle and the east circle is ₹14.5 crore, ₹6.05 crore and ₹5.57 crore, respectively.
A PSPCL official, wishing not to be named, said, “We can’t take any harsh action against them since they provide essential services to people.” Any action would lead to heavy criticism even though we are not at fault, he added.
{{/usCountry}}A PSPCL official, wishing not to be named, said, “We can’t take any harsh action against them since they provide essential services to people.” Any action would lead to heavy criticism even though we are not at fault, he added.
{{/usCountry}}Additionally, the department of health and family welfare also contributes to the mounting dues, with a total of ₹27.2 crore outstanding. Meanwhile, the department of rural development and panchayat owes ₹22.5 crore with the highest share in the suburban circle ( ₹10.54 crore), followed by ₹9.2 crore in the Khanna circle.
A PSPCL official revealed that in September, the corporation managed to recover ₹8.5 crore which then stood at ₹205 crore. However, despite this recovery, dues have surged by an alarming ₹72 crore over the past two months, he noted.
Acknowledging the crisis, Jagdev Singh Hans, chief engineer of PSPCL’s central zone, said that such hefty dues have crippled the daily operations of the power corporation. The onus lies with the secretarial-level authorities to clear the dues of these defaulting departments, he added.