PHQ, Div Com office, several politicians served final notices
Serving bureaucrats also in the list of defaulters
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Mar 12: Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL) has launched massive drive against the influential and chronic defaulters and disconnected 1156 electricity connections including that of former Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and President of J&K Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Ravinder Raina and several Government departments.
Moreover, notices have been issued to several other defaulters which include Jammu and Kashmir Police Headquarters, Divisional Commissioner office and several politicians, who even after being given repeated reminders by the Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited have preferred not to clear their electricity dues.
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As per the official figures, electricity consumption across the Jammu region is to the tune of Rs 3500 crore but revenue realization remains Rs 2050 crore which means there is a shortfall of around Rs 1400 crore. In Kashmir valley, electricity consumption is to the tune of Rs 4000 crore but revenue realization is less than Rs 1500 crore as such there is shortfall of Rs 2500 crore.
This clearly indicates that despite high electricity consumption in Kashmir division as compared to Jammu revenue realization remains poor. In such a situation how the Power Distribution Corporation Limited of both the regions will meet the expenditure on providing electricity to the people remains a million dollar question.
Under the Amnesty Scheme, the JPDCL has collected more than Rs 70 crore so far and over 50,000 consumers have taken benefit of the scheme. The disconnection drive is being carried out against those defaulters, who are yet to take the benefit of Amnesty Scheme and in the first instance connections of 1156 consumers including influential persons and chronic defaulters have been disconnected and final notices have been issued to large number of other defaulters.
As per the details available with EXCELSIOR, electricity connection of former Chief Minister of erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir and President of Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) Ghulam Nabi Azad has been disconnected as he has failed to clear the arrears to the tune of Rs 4,82,143. Similarly, electricity connection of J&K BJP President Ravinder Raina has been disconnected for his failure to clear arrears and that of BJP leader Surinder Choudhary, who was not only the defaulter but was also having illegal power connection.
Even the defaulting Government departments have not been spared and this can be gauged from the fact that power connections of Works Planner of J&K Road Transport Corporation, Estates Officer IWDP Hill-II, Executive Engineer PWD at Narwal Bala, Police Station Trikuta Nagar, Kargil House near Jhelum Resort, Deputy Planner J&K Horticulture Produce Marketing Corporation, Superintendent of Police Panama Chowk, Chief Project Officer Marketing at Bahu Fort, Senior Project Officer Fisheries Marketing Division, Director Parks and Gardens Bagh-e-Bahu have been disconnected.
The notices for disconnection have been issued to Administrator Kala Kendra Bikram Chowk, Police Headquarters, J&K Handloom Development Corporation, former Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Kavinder Gupta, Managing Director J&K Police Housing Corporation, Assistant Labour Commissioner, Rail Head Complex, Managing Director J&K Cements, Director Floriculture etc.
Among the politicians, who have been served notices before disconnection of power connections are Asiya Naqash (over Rs 5 lakh arrears), Sunil Kumar (over Rs 4 lakh arrears), Raman Mattoo (over Rs 3 lakh arrears), J&K Apni Party Jammu (over Rs 1 lakh arrears), Mir Saifullah (nearly Rs one lakh arrears), Mubarakh Gul (nearly Rs one lakh arrears), Mohd Yousuf Lone (nearly Rs one lakh arrears), Dr Mehboob Beig (nearly Rs one lakh arrears), Neelam Langeh (nearly Rs one lakh arrears), Syed Farooq Ahmed Andrabi (over Rs 50,000 arrears) and Bali Bhagat.
Even several serving IAS and KAS officers are also among the list of defaulters and they too have been served notices for clearing the arrears failing which their electricity connections will also be disconnected.
An official spokesman of JPDCL said that it has made huge infrastructure addition for providing better, more efficient and reliable power supply while keeping extremely low tariff to its consumers but despite all this there is huge list of defaulters, who are now being taken to task.
“Although the JPDCL has played an active role in motivating and facilitating revenue realization by way of social awareness of judicious electricity use and timely payment of electricity bills, still a large number of consumers are reluctant in clearing their long outstanding electricity dues”, he said while appealing all the consumers in general and defaulters in particular to clear outstanding electricity bills failing which their connections will be disconnected.
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