Ghaziabad: Power department to name and shame defaulters

Officials said that those with outstanding bills in trans-Hindon areas, which comprises Indirapuram, Vaishali, Sahibabad and Vasundhara, and cis-Hindon region, which comprises old city areas, are being cleared and the due amount is expected to decrease.

To recover its dues from outstanding power bills, the electricity department has decided to launch a ‘name and shame’ campaign. Officials said that the names of top 10 or 20 defaulters would be put up on hoardings in public places and major intersections.

According to officials, the electricity department is to recover a due of nearly Rs700 crore from the Ghaziabad zone, which comprises Ghaziabad, Hapur and Bulandshahr. (HT File Photo)

According to officials, the electricity department is to recover a due of nearly Rs700 crore from the Ghaziabad zone, which comprises Ghaziabad, Hapur and Bulandshahr. This also includes the due of Rs18.25 crore from the trans-Hindon and Rs 26 crore from cis-Hindon areas.

“Besides the two circles, we also have to recover an outstanding amount of nearly Rs172 crore from Loni circle. Another Rs 66 crore is pending from Modi Nagar, Murad Nagar and Pilkhuwa. Earlier, we had launched a one-time settlement scheme, under which 82,341 consumers cleared their dues,” SK Gupta, chief engineer of Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited, said.

“We have decided to launch the ‘name and shame’ scheme to recover the dues. In this campaign, the names of top defaulters will be displayed in public. This will urge them to clear their outstanding bills. The superintending engineers of areas concerned have been asked to prepare a list and initiate the process,” he said.

Officials said that those with outstanding bills in trans-Hindon areas, which comprises Indirapuram, Vaishali, Sahibabad and Vasundhara, and cis-Hindon region, which comprises old city areas, are being cleared and the due amount is expected to decrease.

According to official estimates, the two circles generate an average monthly revenue of nearly Rs120-125 crore. Officials said that the trans-Hindon has 23,948 defaulters while the cis-Hindon circle has 2,208 defaulters, as per their data. These include residential, industrial and commercial consumers, officials said.

“Before starting the ‘name and shame’ scheme, we are serving notices to defaulters. In case they fail to respond to the notice and clear their dues, we will initiate the scheme from July 5 to July 15. We will soon decide whether the hoardings will contain the names of top 10 or 20 defaulters,” an official said.