The Madhya Pradesh Vidyut Mandal Abhiyanta Sangh (MPVMAS) has urged the state government to release in advance the subsidy announced under Samadhan Yojna to the three state-owned and cash-strapped power distribution companies.
As per the narrative of General secretary VKS Parihar, Madhya Pradesh Vidyut Mandal Abhiyanta Sangh (MPVMAS), the only representative body of electricity engineers in the state, has written a letter to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan demanding his intervention for releasing in advance the quantum of subsidy announced under Samadhan Yojna to the state-run power distribution companies two days ago.
He further added, the MP government owes Rs 27000 crore to the distribution companies as subsidy payment.
"As per the provisions of the Electricity Act 2003 and State Government Regulations 2007, the state is duty-bound to reimburse the subsidy amount in advance to the distribution companies. The current practice is that the power consumers availing the benefit of a scheme have to pay a portion of the actual bill amount. So the distribution companies bear the burden of waivers," Parihar said.
The losses that the three distribution companies are reeling under are more than Rs 30,000 crore due to different reasons, like non payment of subsidy amount to them by the state government. Every year, the price of electricity is going up in MP as the distribution companies were petitioning the MP Electricity Regulatory Commissioner (MPERC) for power hike to run their show, president of NGO Nagrik Upbhokta Margdarshak Manch, Dr P G Najpandey, said. Consumers in MP are getting very costly electricity due to freebies next to Maharashtra in India, he added.
Chouhan has announced the Samadhan Yojna earlier this month, as part of which people under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) were being given 40 per cent waiver in clearing the power dues of the coronavirus period. Besides, the state government has also written off the surcharge (fine) under the scheme for delayed payment, an official said.
The waiver has been announced ahead of the yet-to-be announced urban civic body elections the next year.
Meanwhile, according to experts in the power sector, the Centre is planning to frame rules to give the distribution companies free hand to charge actual bill amount from the consumers getting benefit under any scheme and later transfer the subsidy amount in the accounts of consumers
(With PTI Inputs)