Meghalaya Power minister Sniawbhalang Dhar today said the state government has an outstanding of over Rs 500 crore to power companies.
"The amount due to the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Limited (NEEPCO) and other Central Generating Stations (CGS) as on March 2 this year is Rs 527.07 crore," Dhar told the state Assembly during Question Hour.
He said measures were taken to clear the outstanding dues and in December last year the Meghalaya Electricity Corporation Limited (MeECL) had availed the government guaranteed loan of Rs 325 crore from the Power Finance Commission (PFC).
"This was paid to NEEPCO on December 21 last year as part of the one-time settlement plan for liquidation of NEEPCO dues," he said.
Dhar said participation in the Centre's Ujjwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY) Scheme for operational and financial turnaround of MePDCL was under active consideration by the government.
In a supplementary question, opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) legislator Jemino Mawthoh said the problem of power cuts continues despite the government's repeated attempts to bail out power companies.
In his reply, Dhar said the inability of MePDCL to liquidate the dues was primarily due to fund constraints arising out of low electricity distribution tariff in the state, which he claimed was the lowest in the country.
He also blamed inadequate tariff subsidy provided by the government and non-realization of outstanding dues from defaulters as major obstacles in the state's power sector.
Last night the state cabinet had approved a decision to take over 75 per cent of the Rs 166.67 crore debt of MePDCL, which would pave way for signing of a tripartite agreement between the Discom, the state government and the Centre within this month.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
