the goan I network
PANAJI
While the government has been quick to pull up domestic and corporate defaulters over various pending bills and outstanding amounts, it now appears that many government departments and agencies have been huge power defaulters as well.
Believe it or not, a number of government departments owe the electricity department a staggering Rs 117 crore in unpaid bills, with the PWD accounting for a lion’s share of these pending bills, which amounts to about Rs 90 crore.
After the Panaji Market and Opa water treatment plant were targetted for their huge outstanding power bills, the electricity department has also turned its attention to several other government offices and institutions.
The issue of pending bills by government departments and agencies came to the fore when the electricity department had disconnected power supply to the CCP Panaji market on October 1, in connection with a pending bill of Rs 5.8 crore.
Power Minister Nilesh Cabral then targetted the Opa Water Treatment Plant and also threatened to disconnect power supply if electricity dues of about Rs 35.69 crore were not cleared.
As per government procedures, bills are not paid by departments through direct transfer of funds, but are adjusted in the budget account of the electricity department and departments concerned.
But information from sources in the electricity department have revealed that such adjustments have not been effected for a long time.
“As a result, bills have been pending not just for one or two months, but for many years,” disclosed an electricity department official.
According to a list of defaulters updated in July and a copy of which is available with The Goan, several government offices are yet to clear their electricity bills. The electricity department has now started the process of recovering dues from several departments.
Various sections of the PWD, police stations, government colleges, various offices of the health department and the sports department figure in the list of pending electricity bills prepared by the electricity department.
The power defaulters include the PWD offices at Opa Water Project (Rs 35.69 crore), Alto-Porvorim division (Rs 12.43 crore), Sanguem division (Rs 11.90 crore), Shelpem division (Rs 10.28) and the Fatorda division (Rs 42 lakh).
The electricity bills of government colleges at Sanquelim and Quepem, the Polytechnic at Altinho and Betki Government Primary school are also pending.
The police stations at Verna, Ponda, Curchorem and the Farmagudi police outpost also feature in the list of pending electricity bills.
Goa Medical College also has power dues of Rs 48 lakh, while the health centres at Canacona, Valpoi, Mapusa Asilo, Quepem and Candolim are also yet to clear their pending power bills.
The Central Library has to pay Rs 48.91 lakh towards its electricity bill, while the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporations building at Verna has a pending power bill of about Rs 11.49 lakh.
Even the seat of power -- the Secretariat at Porvorim -- has power bills pending, with some offices of the under secretaries still to pay Rs 17.30 lakh toward electricity bills.
