The Jammu and Kashmir government on Monday asked all the government departments of Jammu and Kashmir to clear pending electricity dues towards the Power Development Department and ensure the bills are paid on a monthly basis.
The order, issued by the Finance department, came nearly a month after The Kashmir Walla had extensively reported on the unpaid electricity bills by the different departments of Jammu and Kashmir administration and also government forces operating in the region.
The highest amount of rupees 415.56 crores is owed by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, followed by the Housing and Urban Development Department that owes an amount of rupees 106.36 crores.
Army, CRPF, BSF and Jammu and Kashmir’s Home Department owe more than 2300 crore rupees to the Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL), as per official details.
The circular issued by the Finance department read that it has come to its notice that there are outstanding pending electricity dues against various Government Departments of Union Territory of J-K and asked them to clear the dues and pay the bills on a monthly basis thereafter.
“Each Department is supposed to clear the electricity bills of their offices raised by the Power Development Department every month by way of contra-credit book adjustment at respective Treasuries,” the circular reads.
To streamline payment of electricity dues, the Financial Commissioner, Finance Department Atal Dulloo impressed upon all the Administrative Secretaries to instruct the Heads of the Department (s) and Drawing and Disbursing Officer(s) under their administrative control to clear the electricity dues immediately.
“The properly assessed bills shall be cleared by each department on a monthly basis and shortfall in budget allocation with proper justification shall be projected in the Revised Estimates 2021-22,” the circular read.
