Jammu: J&K Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary) Finance department Atal Dulloo on Monday directed all the government departments to “clear the electricity dues immediately.”
As per official statistics, different government departments owed around Rs 4000 Cr to Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL) and Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) as electricity dues.
In a circular issued, Dulloo, taking stringent note of outstanding dues, directed all the Administrative Secretaries to instruct the Heads of the Departments (HoDs) and Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) under their administrative control to comply with the order immediately.
He warned that the properly assessed bills should be cleared by each department on a monthly basis and a shortfall in budget allocation with proper justification would be projected in the Revised Estimates (RE) 2021-22.
“It has come to the notice of the Finance department that there are outstanding/pending electricity dues against various government departments of Union Territory of J&K. Each department is supposed to clear the electricity bills of their offices raised by Power Development Department (PDD) every month by way of contra-credit/book adjustment at respective treasuries,” Dulloo stated.
“To streamline payment of electricity dues, it is impressed upon all the Administrative Secretaries to instruct the Heads of the Department (s) and Drawing and Disbursing Officer(s) under their administrative control to clear the electricity dues immediately. The properly assessed bills shall be cleared by each department on monthly basis and shortfall in budget allocation with proper justification shall be projected in the Revised Estimates 2021-22,” Financial Commissioner (Additional Chief Secretary) Finance department said.
Earlier in June this year, JPDCL chairman Jagmohan Sharma and Managing Director Gurmeet Singh in a press conference in Jammu had informed that various government departments, including Jammu Municipal Corporation and Jal Shakti ((PHE) department owed a whopping Rs 1800 Cr to it (JPDCL). According to them, only Jammu Municipal Corporation had to clear its outstanding dues of Rs 300 Cr to the Corporation.
The government departments have to pay almost a similar amount (Rs 1848 Cr) to KPDCL, as per the Corporation’s reply to an RTI application in July this year till November 2020.
As per this reply, the government departments viz., PHE, Irrigation & Flood Control, Home, Housing and Urban Development, Tourism, Public Works owed Rs 1081 Cr, Rs 415.56 Cr, Rs 206 Cr, Rs 106.36 Cr, Rs 36 Cr, Rs 16 Cr respectively to KPDCL.
Till March 2020, the government departments in J&K, as per official statistics, had a whopping Rs 6000 Cr outstanding electricity dues, to be paid to these twin Corporations (JPDCL & KPDCL). Out of Rs 5935.04 Cr, JPDCL had to recover Rs 4070.84 Cr while KPDCL owed Rs 1864.20 Cr.