MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, July 6: Power dues of Jharkhand has crossed Rs 4,000 crore making it one of the leading states that has ballooned the total outstanding of electricity distribution companies (discoms) to power producers in the country to Rs 1,11,730 crore.
The overdue amount stands at Rs 4,128 crore for Jharkhand. Including the current dues of Rs 325 crore, the total outstanding is Rs 4,453 crore at end of July 2022, according to portal PRAAPTI (Payment Ratification And Analysis in Power Procurement for bringing Transparency in Invoicing of generators) of Union Ministry of Power.
Jharkhand’s power dues are in stark contrast to the outstanding amounts of the states in its neighbourhood. It is more than double the combined power dues of Bihar (Rs 837 cr), West Bengal (Rs 536 cr), Odisha (Rs 253 cr) and Chhattisgarh (Rs 187 cr).
Among the five eastern states, Jharkhand is alone with power dues outstanding for the last six to 12 months. West Bengal has dues that are pending for one to three months, while electricity dues of Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh are less than a month old.
The state’s power distribution company is Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL). It is the state’s largest discom utility and has been carrying out distribution of electricity to retail and bulk consumers in the state since 2014 after the unbundling of the erstwhile Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) in 2013.
The JBVNL owes Rs 3,850 crore to Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), a central public sector enterprise (CPSE). There is a disputed amount of Rs 1,649 crore as well. DVC accounts for 94% of JBVNL’s dues. It also owes Rs 237 crore to NTPC Ltd.
It may be noted that the Union Ministry of Power has deducted more than Rs 2,000 crore from Jharkhand’s RBI account under a tripartite agreement in two installments, signed by the state government with the RBI and the power ministry.
After deducting around Rs 1,400 crore in October 2020, the power ministry deducted Rs 714 crore in January 2021. The state government has complained against the deduction saying the dues of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to the state are still pending.
On Monday, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren at a meeting in Dhanbad said that the Centre is yet to clear legitimate dues of Rs 1.36 lakh crore pending with the Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) like Coal India Ltd (CIL) for coal mining done in the state.
