Govt Departments Owe 1,36,685 Lakhs to PDD

Bashir Assad

Jammu

Though the Jammu and Kashmir government blames  consumers for “not paying” the electricity tariff, the official records, on the contrary, suggest that the government and its functionaries are the biggest defaulters of the Power Development Department (PDD) with arrears amounting to around Rs 1000 crore pending against state government departments and corporation/autonomous organizations.

While the state government departments owe around Rs 1000 crore to PDD on account of power tariff,  the government puts Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses at around 76 per cent because it  could realizes tariff for  only 26 per cent supplied energy and  and it attributes the losses to power theft. Though the power theft by consumers in connivance with the PDD officials cannot be refuted, if the government departments pay the tariff which the government simply terms as book adjustment, the losses so accumulated will considerably come down.

In a written reply to a question raised by National Panthers Party legislator Harshdev Singh, the government has admitted that its departments and autonomous bodies were the biggest defaulters.

The written reply to the said question reveals that the biggest defaulters of electricity tariff in the valley are the Public Health Engineering, Irrigation and Flood Control departments with Rs 7471.05 lacs  outstanding against them. These are followed by Health Department with Rs 3165.87 lacs  arrears and Revenue Department  302 lacs.

Similarly, Roads & Buildings , Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation, , Animal Husbandry Department, Education Department, Urban Local bodies , Municipal Councils/Committees, Rural Development Department, Horticulture Department, State Road Transport Corporation and Judiciary  owe hundreds of crores to PDD  as electricity tariff charges both in Jammu and Kashmir  valley.

The other defaulters in Kashmir include: Forest Department, Industries and Commerce Department, Social Welfare Department , Government Press, Information Department, Consumer Affairs & Public Distribution Department, Government Woolen Mills Srinagar, State Forest Corporation, Department of Fire & Emergency Services and others.

The dues of power tariff outstanding against each  Government departments and corporations as on date are as under:

KASMIR

JAMMU

The government departments and its organizations owe rupees 1,36,lakhs to PDD.