Discom recovers Rs 20 crore dues

GURUGRAM: Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN)has recovered around Rs 20 crore under the bill settlement scheme, so far. The scheme, which reduces the outstanding dues on both connected and disconnected meters to one fourth, will end on January 31.
Discom officials told TOI that there were around 39,000 consumers in the city who still owed them outstanding dues. “We have recovered around Rs 20 crore,” said K C Aggarwal, superintending engineer, DHBVN. “A total of 19,000 consumers defaulted on connected meters whereas the remaining 20,000 defaulted on disconnected meters. Our recovery from the former is complete now. We are working to recover dues from the latter. The amount we offered as rebate is Rs 70 crore, which is more than what we have recovered. So, it is going to be our priority for some time now,” he added.

However, residents are unhappy with the scheme. Dinesh Vashishta, RWA president of sectors 3, 5 and 6 said, “If a resident has moved into a flat and got a new connection and meter, how can the discom slap outstanding bills of the previous owner on him? In some cases, these dues are Rs 4-5 lakh.” Discom officials said that aggrieved consumers could approach a subdivision-level official or junior engineer. “Several residents came to us and we resolved their issue,” said an official.