Civic body unable to pay electricity bills

Statesman News Service

MALDA, 13 NOV: The English Bazaar Municipality in Malda district is faced with the difficult task of meeting nearly a Rs 4 crore electricity bill which has been outstanding for years. The EBM authority is unable to pay the amount.

The state urban development minister and power minister would now decide on the matter. Since the EBM has a Trinamul, Congress and BJP board the resolution of this deadlock will be quite a task.

The power department is pressing for payments.

The divisional manager, electricity department in Malda has been asked to furnish monthly electricity bills to the chief engineer so that the department can claim it from the municipal affairs department directly as the EBM has expressed inability to pay the bill amount.

Admitting that the civic body was suffering from a fund crunch, the EBM chairman, Mr Narendranath Tiwari, said: “The civic body owes the power department Rs 3.96 crore in bills for successive years. We do not have sufficient funds to pay the due amount. We have approached the state government to cut short our allocation to clear the outstanding power bills.”

According to the chairman, expenses in providing services to the people were higher than the civic body's income.

“Fifty per cent exemption of water tax, which was adopted as a policy by the civic board, is costing us dear. Meeting electricity charges for the pump houses has also become a problem,” Mr Tiwari added.

Incidentally, the EBM civic body board has been in the possession of the Congress, Trinamul and BJP for successive years since 1995 except for two brief stints when the Left Front gained control but lost it faster than acquired.

Mr DK Mondal, divisional manager, electricity distribution company limited in Malda, said: “The EBM authority has almost surrendered. They are not paying bills now. The matter is being discussed at the minister level. We are sending copies of the month electricity bill to our chief engineer.”

According to him, the civic body was clearing bills amounting from running its offices and pump houses but it has not cleared bills accrued from electricity consumed for street lights.