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Govt depts in Jammu owe ₹1,800 crore to power discom
Various government departments here owe a whopping ₹1,800 crore to the Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL), officials said on Wednesday
Various government departments here owe a whopping ₹1,800 crore to the Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL), officials said on Wednesday.
The Jammu municipal corporation (MC) has pending dues worth ₹300 crore.
JPDCL chairman and managing director Jagmohan Sharma and engineer Gurmeet Singh said that several government establishments, including the MC and Jal Shakti department, were yet to pay around ₹1,800 crore in power dues.
“We serve them reminders from time to time to clear their arrears. The matter has also been taken up with the higher authorities, but to no avail,” said Sharma.
With mercury touching 44°C in Jammu on Wednesday — season’s highest so far — power supply has worsened across the region.
A densely populated locality, Lakshmi Nagar in Sarwal area of the winter capital remained without electricity for over 36 hours after a transformer and transmission lines were damaged due to excessive load.
On May 26, Lt governor Manoj Sinha had set an eight-hour deadline to replace damaged transformers in urban areas and 48 hours in rural areas.
During the peak of summer, day temperatures soar past 47°C in Jammu.
Sharma said, “JPDCL is toiling hard to meet the demand. Out of a requirement of 1530 MW in Jammu region, we are providing 1258 MW power. We are hopeful of meeting the deficit by the end of June.”
He, however, urged the people to make judicious use of electricity and refrain from unethical practice of power pilferage.
“We are augmenting our capacities, but due to Covid-19 pandemic, the process got a bit delayed. The augmentation projects will be completed by June-end. Our effort is to it improve power scenario across the region, but we also need active support from organisations, political parties and all individuals,” he said.
Managing director Gurmeet Singh also appealed to the people to ensure there was no power theft.
Urging them to inform JPDCL about power pilferage, he admitted that there may be black sheep within the system. “We need to expose them as well. If you come across such elements, let us know. Strict action will be taken against them,” he added.
