ADILABAD: The State government is planning to set up pre-paid electric metres in government offices, municipal bodies and commercial complexes to avoid irregularities in payments. With installation of such meters, power would be automatically disconnected if any establishment fails to pay the bills on time.
In erstwhile Adilabad, dues owed by seven municipalities stand at a whopping Rs 2,124.24 lakh. Bhainsa Municipality has a due of Rs 805.44 lakh, Nirmal Rs 387.38 lakh, Mancherial Rs 243.33 lakh, Bellampelli Rs 136.59 lakh, Mandamarry `383.92 lakh, Adilabad Rs 69.22 lakh and Kaghaznagar Rs 98.36 lakh.
The dues of government offices stands at Rs 2,374.69 lakh. Lift Irrigation scheme power dues is about Rs 1805.90 lakh and School Education Rs197.98 lakh. Despite notices being issued by electricity department officials, there has been no response from the municipal officials.EB officials now have disconnected power supply to the Kaghaznagar Municipal office and since the last two days, employees are facing problems in issuing certificates to people. Last October too, power was disconnected for a week and till Municipal officials request they don’t restore the power supply.
While the municipal office generates a power bill of whopping Rs 5 lakh every month, it pays only `3 lakh on a monthly basis, accumulating a total outstanding amount of Rs 1.35 crore. Making matters worse, these municipalities fail to collect revenues from commercial establishments resulting in a drastic fall in earnings. Unable to foot its bills, officials have written to government to adjust the funds but have received no response. The revenue earned by municipalities are barely sufficient to pay salaries to staff.