By IANS,
Chandigarh: Implementing a carrot and stick policy against electricity consumers in the state has paid off for the power department in Haryana. The department has been able to recover over Rs.1,000 crore from power sector defaulters in just two months (December-January).
Haryana’s Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary (power), Madhusudan Prasad Wednesday told a meeting of senior officials here that the recovery was made possible after nearly 8,000 complaints were registered against consumers, including first information reports (FIRs) against 133 persons.
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who chaired the meeting, directed power department officials to register complaints (Daily Diary Report [DDR]) against defaulting consumers and they should be given a time of 15 days to clear the dues.
“If the dues are not cleared by them then the DDR should be converted into FIR,” Hooda added.
The Hooda government, in its previous term in July 2005, had given a one-time waiver of Rs.1,700 crore of unpaid bills to rope in defaulting consumers to start paying future bills.
Tens of thousands of electricity connections have been disconnected by the power supply authorities across Haryana for default in payments.