Govt dept yet to clear power bills worth Rs 32.78 cr in Palwal circle

Bijendra Ahlawat

Palwal, December 20

Several government departments in the Palwal circle, which includes Palwal and Nuh district — are yet to clear pending dues of power bills to the tune of Rs 32.78 crore.

Defaulters’ list

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• Public Health Engineering Department has pending dues amounting to Rs 23 crore.
• The Irrigation, Education, Police, Health, Panchayat and Forest Departments, Haryana Roadways and the local civic body are also included in the defaulters’ list

Connections will be snapped

The DHBVN teams visit 15 to 20 villages daily to collect the pending bills. The connection of defaulters would be snapped after January 1, 2023. Jogender Hooda, Superintending Engineer of the DHBVN, Palwal circle

An official of the Palwal district administration said, “Some local departments have cleared portion of their power bills under the surcharge waiver scheme in the past two months. But the pending dues still remain a cause for concern as after 10 days the waiver scheme will end.”

He added that the Public Health Engineering Department, which was managing the water supply network in the rural areas, sewerage facilities, storm water disposal, sewage treatment plant and sanitary amenities in government offices and buildings had pending dues amounting to Rs 23 crore. “The departments concerned are regularly directed to clear the bills,” the official said. The Irrigation, Education, Police, Health, Panchayat and Forest Departments, Haryana Roadways and the local civic body are also included in the defaulters’ list.

The surcharge waiver scheme of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) will end on December 31. Sources in the DHBVN claimed that the scheme had failed to yield the expected results as several government department hadn’t cleared the electricity bills.

In rural areas of the Hathin sub-division, the DHBVN has suffered 50 to 60 per cent line losses. Jogender Hooda, Superintending Engineer of the DHBVN, Palwal circle, said, “The department is trying to resolve the matter of pending bills with various departments. A drive has been started to improve the recovery of pending dues in the rural areas.” The DHBVN was visiting 15 to 20 villages daily to collect the bills and connection of defaulters would be snapped after January 1, 2023, he added.