NELLORE: Gram panchayats across Nellore district owe power dues to the tune of Rs 208 crore to Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company Limited (APSPDCL). There are 940 gram panchayats in the district and majority of them have not been paying power bills for the past 10 months.
The local bodies owe Rs 208 crore to the discom towards street lighting, water supply to denizens and supplying power to panchayat buildings. In addition to local bodies, departments such as revenue, irrigation and education have also failed to clear power bills.
According to official sources, the medical and health department owes Rs 2.5 crore, revenue department Rs 6 crore, irrigation department Rs 6 crore and panchayat raj department Rs 2.5 crore. While the Atmakur civic body had not cleared pending bills to the tune of Rs 4 crore, Municipal Corporation of Nellore owes Rs 14 crore to the APSPDCL.
In an effort to recover dues, the APSPDCL officials have started serving notices to the panchayats. The officials have also identified gram panchayats which have not responded to their notices.
“We have been conducting special drives and serving notices to government departments which have defaulted on payments. The local body officials have promised to clear pending bills after getting funds from the budget,” said APSPDCL SE Vijaya Kumar Reddy.