UP agrees to clear Rs 200 cr power dues of HP

The Uttar Pradesh government has agreed to clear Rs 200 crore power dues of Himachal Pradesh, following intervention by the Centre.
Himachal had sold power to UP during the BSP regime but the payment was not made in spite of number of requests from the state government.
After Assembly elections, there was a change of guards in both the states but the amount remained pending and the Himachal government was even contemplating moving court in this matter.
"We raised this matter with the Union ministry time and again and as a result of our persistent efforts, the UP government agreed to pay the pending amount of Rs 200 crore to Himachal," state Power minister Sujan Singh Pathania said.

Sources in the Power department said that Himachal government was likely to receive this amount in next few days.
The states like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and UP are the regular buyers of power from Himachal Pradesh during the summers, when the state has surplus power.
Himachal with five major rivers flowing from the western Himalayas, has immense hydropower potential of 27,000 MW but the revenue from the sale of power to other states was continuously declining from last few years and the revenue reduced from Rs 1,000 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 700 crore last year.