State power boards are paying their dues

Bonds worth Rs 15,788cr ssued by 20 SEBs to NTPC

Fiscal rectitude is the flavour of the season in the power sector. Over the past two months, 20 State Electricity Boards have issued bonds worth Rs 15,788.39 crore to the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) towards their past dues under the one-time dues settlement scheme approved by the Cabinet.

In addition, NTPC's realisation of current billings with the SEBs has shot up to over 95 per cent for nearly the whole of this fiscal, against a realisation of around 70 per cent recorded earlier.

The one-time dues settlement scheme was recommended by the Montek Singh Ahluwalia Committee to the government. Under the scheme, NTPC is scheduled to get Rs 17,365 crore after waiving 60 per cent of surcharge. The surcharge amount waived by NTPC was Rs 2,548 crore.

The outstandings of Rs 2,411 crore owed by Delhi will be securitised separately under an alternate payment mechanism. A tri-partite agreement would be signed with Delhi, for which work was already under progress, company officials said.

One time settlement scheme has proved beneficial to state boards also as the surcharge has been waived and cash incentives provided for full payment of current bills.

The Reserve Bank of India has issued the bonds on behalf of 20 states to recover dues owed to various central undertakings including the National Hydel Power Corporation, Power Grid Corporation and Nuclear Power Corporation. The bonds carry an interest of 8 per cent and have a tenure of 15 years.

Uttar pradesh accounts for the largest chunk with dues of Rs 3,989 crore, followed by Andhra Pradesh with Rs 1,260 crore and West Bengal with Rs 1,174 crore.

Haryana has issued bonds worth Rs 1,075 crore, Kerala Rs 1,002 crore, Rajasthan Rs 290 crore, Uttaranchal Rs 399 crore, Maharashtra Rs 381 crore, Tamil Nadu Rs 465 crore, Punjab Rs 346 crore, Gujarat Rs 837 crore, and Himachal Pradesh Rs 33 crore. Along with Delhi, Jharkhand is yet to issue bonds against past dues. Goa has been excluded as it has been making regular payments.

Officials said the realisation against current billings by NTPC had crossed 95 per cent during the current financial year.

Power outstandings

---

• NTPC's realisation of current billings with SEBs has shot up to over 95 per cent for nearly the whole of this fiscal, as against a realisation of current billings of around 70 per cent recorded earlier
• Under the dues settlement scheme, NTPC is scheduled to get Rs 17,365 crore after waiving 60 per cent surcharge
• The Reserve Bank of India has issued the bonds on behalf of 20 states to recover dues owed to various central undertakings including the NHPC, Powergrid Corp and Nuclear Power Corporation