The Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha approved the amnesty scheme for domestic power consumers in Jammu and Kashmir.
The decision is going to benefit more than 5.50 lakh domestic consumers by waiving off an amount of Rs 937.34 crore accumulated as surcharge or interest on account of non-payment of timely dues.
The Administrative Council has provided this last opportunity to the consumers because of not being able to avail the benefits of the last scheme due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic during the scheme period. The new scheme envisages that the outstanding amount arrears accumulated up to March 31, 2022, after waving off 100 percent interest and surcharge should be paid in a maximum of 12 monthly installments.
The scheme further entails that the failure of payment of any installments within the prescribed 12 months period should invite penalty and legal action under the Electricity Act, 2010, in addition to the accrual of compound interest on the outstanding dues.
Consumers who fail to pay the current bill simultaneously with the payment of monthly outstanding installments should forfeit the benefits of the amnesty scheme besides the disconnection of the power supply.
An independent Project Management Agency would be hired for overseeing the efficient implementation of the scheme.
Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Chief SecretaryDr Arun Kumar Mehta, and Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor Nitishwar Kumar attended the meeting.
