Power Department releases lists of top 200 defaulters
Morung Express News
Dimapur | November 2
The Nagaland Power Department has come up with a unique way to recover electricity bills from Government as well as village consumers.
The department has been releasing the list of top defaulters periodically as a reminder as well as to draw attention to another side of ‘power crises’ in the state.
The first list was released in June 2017 when the Department highlighted that the top 100 Nagaland Government department/offices owed the department an amount of 9.55 Crores in electricity dues.
In October last week, the department re-released the list. By then, the dues of top 100 defaulting government consumers in Nagaland have considerably increased.
The outstanding top government departments amounted to Rs.15.45 crore with the Nagaland State Co-operative Marketing & Consumers' Federation Ltd (MARCOFED Office) leading the pack with Rs. 91.01 lakhs.
The Women Hostel & Treasury and Tuli Paper Mill were second and third with Rs. 88.58 lakhs and Rs. 86.58 respectively.
At Rs 21.23 crores, the combined dues of 16 Assam Rifles Camp occupying 4th, 5th and 6th position was the highest for a single entity. The dues were either up to August or September.
A DIPR report informed that “the department was compelled to release the details since they have failed to clear the dues despite several reminders and notices.”
Meanwhile, the experiment to leave the management of electricity supplies at the grassroots to the community with communitisation of electricity in 2003 also seemed to be faltering at some level.
Under communitisation, the Village Electricity Management Boards (VEMBs) were formed and given the task of monitoring the availability of power supply, collecting electricity dues, supervising the electricity board staff and the power to check theft of energy and recommend corrective action in the SPM villages.
Besides giving 20% rebate on the electricity sold/consumed in their area, the VEMBs were authorized to use the money collected from the rebate in such welfare projects like providing street lights and adding power amenities, according to a PIB press release issued thereafter.
The Power Department, on October 31, also released the list of top 100 defaulting Single Point Metering (SPM) villages in Nagaland managed by VEMBS. The department stated that it was compelled to release the details “since they fail to clear the dues inspite of several reminders and notices.”
The outstanding arrears of top 100 VEMBs amounted to Rs. 3.49 crores with Chozuba village, under Phek district, topping the list with Rs. 33.33 lakhs as of August 2017.
Tuensang village and Phek Village were second and third with Rs. 20.58 lakhs (till September) and Rs. 9.88 lakhs (till August) respectively.
The combined total outstanding due of top 100 government and village entities was Rs. 18.95 crores as per the power department lists.
Sources in the power department informed that private consumers – individuals as well as organisations particularly health sectors have huge dues, but the department is yet to publish such list.
