Hyderabad, August 1: Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will soon take a decision on the arrears of power bills to be paid by the local authorities, in particular on the gram panchayats and municipalities. The discoms were directed to prepare a detailed arrears report within 7 days, after the details were reconciled with the local bodies.
Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar in a meeting with the DISCOMs, Municipal and Panchayat Raj department officials in order to address issues related to the payment of electricity bills as per the Chief Minister ‘s directions. He requested the discoms separate the arrears and send a comprehensive report within a week, along with payment options. Having acknowledged the financial situation of the discoms as well as the local bodies, the Chief Minister will take a decision in this regard.
Principal Municipal Administration Secretary Arvind Kumar, Panchayat Raj Secretary Sandeep Kumar Sultania, Municipal Administration Secretary Sudershan Reddy, Panchayat Raj Commissioner Raghunandan Rao, Municipal Administration Manager Satyanarayana, Southern Power Distribution Company Limited Chairman and CEO Raghuma Reddy and other officials attended the meeting.
In addition, the Chief Secretary ordered all local bodies to pay the monthly power bills without fail, and warned that stern action must be taken if any delay is caused. He wanted the disks to repair electricity meters wherever required within a month and produce one hundred percent bills based solely on meter readings. He instructed the officials concerned to form joint discom, gram panchayat and municipal teams to address anomalies in electricity bills such as borewells run by local bodies.
