Discom recovers dues of over Rs 20 crore in mega disconnection drive

PVVNL chief engineer Virendra Nath Singh said these 12,385 defaulters had not cleared their dues, which cumulatively amount to Rs 25 crore

The Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) recovered over Rs 20 crore in its recently launched mega disconnection drive in the Gautam Budh Nagar district. The fortnight-long drive, which started on November 28, saw the power supply of 12,385 defaulters disconnected as part of the process to recover dues.

Ghaziabad, India - Aug 10, 2018: An electrician seen checking power supply cables at Kamla Nehru nagar, in Ghaziabad, India, on Friday, Aug 10, 2018. To make Ghaziabad city a ‘no tripping zone,’ the officials of Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (PVVNL) has chalked out short term and medium term measures which will be rolled out by August 15 and October end, respectively. The officials have prepared a detailed road map after a recent visit by top officials of the discom on August 1, in Ghaziabad, India, on Friday, Aug 10, 2018. (Photo by Sakib Ali /Hindustan Times) (HT File Photo/ Representative Image)

PVVNL chief engineer Virendra Nath Singh said these 12,385 defaulters had not cleared their dues, which cumulatively amount to Rs 25 crore. “Fearing permanent disconnection, nearly 15,000 other defaulters have deposited more than Rs 20 crore towards their outstanding dues,” he said.

Singh added that before this mega disconnection drive, which ended Wednesday, the PVVNL had identified 27,688 defaulters, who owed electricity dues of a minimum Rs 10,000 per connection. “Contrary to other drives, our achievement rate was better in the rural areas in this 15-day special drive. In the urban areas, our achievement rate in disconnection was 42.10%. but, it was 49.55% in rural areas,” he said.

Giving a break-up of the disconnections during this drive, Singh said that while the power lines of 7,529 defaulters were disconnected in urban areas, the number of disconnections in rural areas was 4,856. “The PVVNL had constituted 20 teams for all the eight zones in Noida. They are now keeping a constant vigil on the disconnected lines. If any of these defaulters is found connecting their households with power supply lines, we will lodge an FIR against them under Section 138(B) of the Indian Electricity Act-2003,” he said.

EASY INSTALMENT SCHEME

Singh added that under the easy installment scheme started on November 11, so far, 4,205 consumers have been registered. “This scheme is for the consumers who have connections with a load of fewer than 4Kw and have not cleared their outstanding dues yet. They will be given a last chance to get registered under the scheme till December 31 this year. The consumers will have to clear outstanding dues incurred till October 31 in instalments. Urban and rural consumers have the options to clear their dues in 12 or 24 equal instalments, respectively. No surcharge will be imposed on the consumers registered under this scheme,” he said.

Singh further informed that if all the defaulters pay their outstanding electricity dues through these instalments, the PVVNL will recover ₹147.45 crore. “At the time of registration under this scheme, the consumers need to deposit either 5% of their outstanding dues or a minimum of ₹1,500 as the first instalment. After that the instalment amount will be added to the monthly electricity bills every month,” he said.