UP to nail power bill defaulters by July 31

Power connections of consumers having dues over Rs 1 lakh pending against them would be snapped by July 31, state Energy Minister Ranveer Upadhyay said here today.     

Expressing serious concern over the slow pace of recovery of power dues, Upadhyay said the state had outstanding dues of over Rs 8,000 crore, of which the share of 21 districts in the eastern region alone is around Rs 2,000 crore.     

 

Officers have been asked to take assistance from administrative personnel in recovering dues and report to higher authorities in case defaulters do not cooperate.     The also said steps woulds also be taken against employees found guilty aiding power theft.    

"Officers and employees found guilty of helping in power theft would be sent to jail," Upadhyay said.