 "Carrot & stick approach for sick power discoms")
Uttarakhand government has decided to waive surcharge worth over Rs 180 crore imposed on unpaid electricity bills of defaulting domestic and private tubewell owners.
Chief Minister Harish Rawat gave his nod to a proposal in this regard yesterday at a meeting with Principal Secretary (Power) Umakant Panwar and Uttarakhand Urja Nigam Managing Director S S Yadav, the officials said.
However, the defaulters will be able to avail the surcharge waiver only if they clear their power dues by March 31.
Yadav said the decision has come into force with immediate effect and 5.33 lakh domestic and private tubewell consumers all over the state will benefit from it.
There are 17 lakh domestic and private tubewell consumers out of which 5.44 lakh owe dues worth Rs 383 crore on account of unpaid electricity bills and another Rs 180.31 crore on electricity surcharge.
The state government has decided to give waiver on the electricity surcharge to help the defaulters to clear their dues.
Urja Nigam slaps a surcharge at the rate of 1.25 per cent per month on unpaid electricity bills.
