Bedi warns power bill defaulters of name and shame

Taking a serious view of Rs 120 crore accumulated power bill dues, Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi today warned that the electricity department would publish the names of defaulters in newspapers and also announce them on FM radio channels.

"Excellent futuristic measures would be put in place immediately, which include publishing names of defaulters in newspapers and also announcement through the FM radio," Bedi said in her WhatsApp message to mediapersons.

Cracking the whip on defaulters after finding out that as much as Rs 120 crore had been due for months together from various categories of power consumers, she held discussions with officials on ways to collect arrears.

The defaulters belonged to commercial, industrial and domestic categories of the power consumers, she added.

The Lt Governor also asked consumers to settle dues by remitting the amount online immediately to avoid disconnection.

She said a "special enforcement team" had been formed to recover the dues.

Bedi said as many as 25,000 defaulters had been identified and the amount due was Rs 120 crore.

She said the administration was spending Rs 1,300 crore every year to procure and distribute power to various categories of consumers and expressed concern at the rate of recovery, which fell short by Rs 100 crore.