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More than Rs 19 crore electricity bills are outstanding at 59 government offices in Sitamarhi, but no action was taken. Questions have been raised due to strictness on common consumers and mere insistence on departments.
SitamarhiThe matter has come into discussion after double standards regarding electricity bill outstanding came to light in the district, Electricity bill of Rs 19 crore 02 lakh 14 thousand 994,20 is outstanding on 59 administrative district level government offices, but till now no punitive action has been taken against them, In case of outstanding dues on common consumers, action is taken including disconnection of connection and even registration of FIR, whereas government departments are being asked to pay only by handing over bills, Due to this, questions are being raised on the functioning of the electricity department,
Among the defaulting departments, the highest liability is of Tap Water Scheme (Panchayati Raj), on which Rs 6.77 crore is outstanding. Apart from this, electricity bill of Rs 5.58 crore is pending on Panchayati Raj Department, Rs 1.63 crore on Urban Development Department, Rs 1.03 crore on Minor Irrigation Department, Rs 79.32 lakh on DDC office, Rs 78.26 lakh on PHED, Rs 33.59 lakh on Primary Education Department, Rs 4.92 lakh on Secondary Education Department and Rs 16.01 lakh on Police Department. Apart from these, dues worth lakhs of rupees are also recorded on many other departments.
Separate rules for government departments
Local people say that if the general public owes even a few thousand rupees, the electricity department immediately takes a strict stance. Along with disconnection, FIR is also lodged for revenue recovery. But when crores of rupees are outstanding on government departments, neither the connections are being disconnected nor any legal action is being taken. This raises the question as to what kind of action will be taken against government departments and whether there are separate rules for them.
Eyes fixed on administration’s action
On this whole matter, Executive Engineer Electrical Sameer Kumar Rajak said that both the general consumer and the government department have outstanding electricity bills. All concerned departments have been instructed to make payment. He also clarified that if payment is not made on time, action will be taken to disconnect the connection. However, since the situation is not clear on the FIR or other punitive measures, the eyes of the general public are still fixed on the next action of the administration.
