M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, May 21: The OTS (one time settlement scheme) for clearing all outstanding dues of the electricity consumers up to 31.12. 2022, launched by the JBVNL, is making headway definitely in the Daltonganj electricity division but as this scheme is to wind up on June 30, the settlement of chronic outstanding dues to the tune of rupees 150 crore looks like a big and distant dream.
Now 40 are days left before the OTS will be shut and the recovery of pending dues from April to May 20 is two crores two lahks and ninety three thousand rupees which appears like a peanut nevertheless the Daltonganj electricity division is leaving no stone unturned to get as much money of the department as possible.
Executive engineer of the Daltonganj division of the electricity department Shambhu Nath Chowdhury said we are going all out to get our outstanding electricity dues cleared by the consumers within the stipulated period of relief as announced to be available till June 30 this year.
The relief is big. It is the waiving of the DPS (Delayed Payment Surcharge) as DPS multiplies with every month when an electricity bill goes unpaid by the consumer, said Chowdhury.
“In Daltonganj electricity division there are 12,000 wilful defaulters of the electricity bills over the years and some among them around two decades old as well,” informed Chowdhury.
The outstanding DPS dues against these 12,000 wilful defaulter consumers run into Rs 150 crores.
Chowdhury said, “Till May 20, our division has given the benefit of the OTS to 1141 wilful defaulters, waiving their DPS and at the same time retrieving our long pending outstanding dues worth two crores two lahks and ninety three thousand.”
The electricity officer further said, “We waived DPS worth one crore three lahks and ninety one thousand and against this waiving the department collected two crores two lahks and ninety three thousand of rupees from the consumers sitting over our bills for years.”
He agreed that waiving the DPS is not a run down financially but a run-up to better recovery of outstanding dues.
On how easy or difficult it is for the electricity department to extract its money from the consumers to which Chowdhury said “We are making a two-fold outreach. First, we issued notices to our defaulters. Our notices had red stamps. The red stamp read if the consumer ignores to pay the electricity bill, the electricity department will initiate legal action. Hence act fast.”
“The red stamp caught the attention of the defaulters more than we had expected. They thought it was good to pay the dues and not linger it for the next day to face the heat of the law. We all wanted this and it clicked although in a limited way ” added the executive engineer.
On Saturday an OTS awareness van was rolled out, jointly flagged off by the DDC Palamu Ravi Anand and the executive engineer Chowdhury, urging consumers to avail of the OTS to clear their outstanding bills piled up till December 31, 2022.
DDC Palamu Ravi Anand said, “We have asked the electricity department here to ensure that consumers do not miss this OTS as it is all beneficial to them.”
“We have launched a portal Urja Samwaad. We speak online to village heads, mukhiyas, ward councillors etc urging them to drive our OTS message in their respective areas and locations,” said Chowdhury.
The OTS is available to consumers facing certificate cases, legal cases, consumers whose power supply is disconnected, urban and rural consumers having up to 5 KW power connection, bills for irrigation and agricultural utilities etc.
“We have offered the facility of clearing outstanding dues in five equal instalments which a consumer can’t afford not to follow” added Chowdhury.