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This is an archive article published on June 18, 1997
MSEB scheme fails to evoke response
MUMBAI, June 17: The state-owned Maharashtra State Electricity Board in an effort to encourage farmers to pay up their bills, announced a 5...
2 min read
MUMBAI, June 17: The state-owned Maharashtra State Electricity Board in an effort to encourage farmers to pay up their bills, announced a 50 per cent reduction in arrears if the farmers clear their dues by April 30, 1997.
The agricultural sector accounts for Rs 600 crores of the total of Rs 2,200 crores that the board has to recover from various sectors. However, the response to the scheme was poor and the board has extended the date for paying the bills up to June 30.
The board stepped up its drive after it was pulled up by the Controller and Auditor General for failing to recover its arrears in the latest report The report said that the arrears from individual consumers alone over Rs 1 crore while 35 state sugar co-operatives also failed to clear their bills.
An official at the board justified the collection drive for farmers saying that they were being charged a very minimal rate. He added that farmers who had electricity connections in the state were in a position to pay the bills and there was no reason for them to ask for any further concessions.
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