CHENNAI: Tangedco’s finance department has instructed all the superintending engineers to collect pending dues of Rs 1,800 crore from village panchayats across TN. The instructions were issued through an email on August 29, which TNIE accessed. “It is a fact that Tangedco is passing through a financial crisis and struggling to meet day-to-day operational expenses.
On the other hand, pending dues from local bodies are mounting,” the letter read. As of July 31 this year, dues from local bodies stood at Rs 1,800 crore. Moreover, Tangedco told the officials to identify connections to which supplies had been cut owing to unpaid dues and send account closure proposals, taking help from revenue officials. If the village panchayat president comes forward to settle the dues, then the account could be closed, it said.
A top Tangedco officer told TNIE that he instructed his subordinates to collect the dues not only from local bodies, but also from other government departments such as the water board, corporations, municipalities, school education, and police.
Due collection from govt depts
Tangedco has been preparing lists of consumers with dues with the help of district collectors. It, however, couldn’t disconnect supply to government departments. Steps were being taken to collect dues from them in phases