Website of the CPDCL to be believed or not!

BY V L Srinivasan

Published on March 9, 2006

HYDERABAD: If the website of the Central Power Distribution Company Ltd (CPDCL) is to be believed, a Minister, MLA, senior IAS officers figure among the consumers who whopping sums to the power utilities towards electricity charges.

Of this, the dues to AP Central Power Distribution Company Limited (APCPDCL), which has a jurisdiction of seven districts including twin cities, alone accounts for more than Rs 1,180 crore. The total dues in all DISCOMS put together is Rs 2,400 crore.

The who's who in the list of defaulters in APCPDCL circle (according to its website) as on September 30, 2005, include Finance Minister K Rosaiah (Rs 60,159), former Home Minister T Devender Goud (Rs 51,358), MIM MLA Mohd Muktada Khan (Rs 1,90,345), senior IAS officers (both retired and serving)- P L Sanjeeva Reddy (Rs 50,378), A K Sharma (Rs 91,587), P Krishnaiah (Rs 60,071), Karikal Valavan (Rs 81,692) and former chief minister Nadendla Bhaskara Rao (Rs 81,513).

The list was kept in the website as per the directions of the Andhra Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (APERC) which wanted the DISCOMS to appoint chartered accountants to identify recoverable and non recoverable dues from major defaulters and realise the same by implementing Revenue Recovery Act.

The APERC was also of the view that with the State Government reducing subsidy to the power sector every year (it came down from Rs 1,599 crore in 2005-06 to Rs 1,405 crore in 2006-07), the power utilities should look at various sources to tap funds for bridging the gap in the revenues.

All distribution companies have nearly completed the exercise and concluded that an amount of Rs 410.34 crore has to be recovered from 5,170 audited services so far. Another 877 accounts, which were also covered, will fetch about Rs 125.11 crore.

The details of another 4,600 defaulters who have to pay more than Rs 50,000, are being kept in the websites of the respective distribution companies. These defaulters including industrial and consumer services have to pay Rs 230.82 crore.

When contacted, a senior official in APCPDCL said that the Roads & Buildings department has to make payments for ministers and government officers which is usually delayed by two to three months. “They must have paid the old bills but the latest ones are pending and hence their names figure in the website,” the official said.