LUCKNOW: At the receiving end for not paying electricity bills, the urban development department will soon pay Rs 112.5 crore to power department to clear dues.
Soon after the state government passed the budget for urban development, the first thing it decided was to pay pending electricity bills.
The power department has been mounting pressure on defaulters to clear dues and the government departments owe huge money to UP Power Corporation Limited.
Soon after the government finalized the budget allocation for 2022-23 fiscal year, the urban development directorate summoned the pending bills from various local bodies.
The urban services in Uttar Pradesh are provided through a network of 17 municipal corporations, 199 municipal councils and 438 nagar panchayat (town councils).
Director, local bodies, Shakuntala Gautam said, “Out of the total budget approved for the department, Rs 900 crore has been reserved for the directorate. Outstanding electricity bills will be paid through our funds.”
Sources in the department said that the bills had been pending for several years. “Power supply to some municipal councils and town councils had also been interrupted over non-payment of bills,” an officer said.
About three years ago, an inquiry had been ordered into the irregularities in payment of electricity bills in Agra. Fake bills and receipts were submitted by employees but the outstanding amount kept increasing.
Out of Rs 112.50 crore, Rs 50.60 crore will be used to settle bills of the corporations while about Rs 39.50 crore will be spent on municipal councils and Rs 22.50 crore will be distributed among town councils.
