Govt To Take Decision On Dues Of Power Bill Soon

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will soon take a decision on arrears of power bills to be paid by the local bodies, especially the gram panchayats and the municipalities. The distribution companies (discoms) have been instructed to prepare a detailed report on arrears within seven days, after reconciling the details with the local bodies.

As per the directions of the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar held a meeting with the officials of discoms and Municipal and Panchayat Raj department to resolve issues pertaining to the payment of electricity bills. He wanted the discoms to separate the arrears and submit a detailed report along with payment options within a week. The Chief Minister will take a decision in this regard after considering the financial condition of the discoms as well as the local bodies.

Further, the Chief Secretary directed all local bodies to pay the monthly power bills without fail and warned of serious action in case of any delay. He wanted the discoms to fix electricity meters wherever it was required within a month and generate cent per cent bills based on meter readings only. He instructed the officials concerned to constitute joint teams of discoms, gram panchayats and municipalities to resolve discrepancies in electricity bills such as borewells operated by the local bodies.

Principal Secretary for Municipal Administration Arvind Kumar, Panchayat Raj Secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Municipal Administration Secretary Sudershan Reddy, Panchayat Raj Commissioner Raghunandan Rao, Municipal Administration Director Satyanarayana, Southern Power Distribution Company Limited chairman and managing director Raghuma Reddy and other officials attended the meeting.