Mumbai: The financial crisis on the electrical distribution of the Maharashtra state managed by the state (MSEDCL) deepened, with cumulative arrears because the non-payment of bills surged to Rs 73,879 Crore and the debt rose to Rs 45,440 Crore.
Energy Minister Nitin Raut said the country will plunge into the dark if MSEDCL arrears are not cleaned.
GizesViewMounting Debt and arrears soaring will have a serious impact on the MSEDCL power supply function.
The government managed by the government has almost three consumer crore and bill payments are needed for daily functions and infrastructure expansion for power supply without interruption.
The government must provide incentives of payment of contributions rather than take hard steps to release the connection.
Also, the department must put his house in order and reduce wasteful expenses.
The meeting to find a solution for losses that continued to increase was chaired by the Chairman of the Minister of Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday and was attended by almost a dozen ministers of cabinet.
Raut said the highest of Rs 49,575 Crore was from agricultural consumers, while almost Rs 8,000 Crore was unclear by the intergovernmental department such as the water supply scheme.
Officials said the department was looking for Rs 20,000 Crore as a guarantee of loans for liquidity, but there was no guarantee given by Thackeray regarding financial packages.
Raut said mismanagement as long as the BJP rules cause an increase in delayed contributions.
Arrears in 2014-15 stood at RS 23,224 Crore, which jumped to Rs 59,833 Crore in 2019-20.
“As soon as we took over, we were exposed to a pandemic, there were natural disasters such as cyclones and floods, which caused the loss of large electricity infrastructure.
We have floated expressions of interest in seeking help from international consultants to plug in situations,” said Raut.
He said once the consultant sent a report that gave a solution, they would bring it to the cabinet for approval and action.
Raut said the government was considering to split MSEDCL to the division company.
Sources say many ministers, including Congress, are very important about MSEDCL functions.
“Even though there are big losses, it approves the purchase of many cars.
The cost of electricity production is higher because of the poor quality of coal.
There are big differences in meters, especially for agricultural consumers.
They need to get their homes in sequence,” said a senior minister.