Srinagar: The Jammu and Kashmir administration has approved amnesty scheme for domestic power consumers of the Union Territory.
An official spokesman, in a statement said that Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, approved the amnesty scheme for domestic power consumers in the J&K.
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 in view of not being able to avail the benefits of the last scheme due to spread of Covid-19 pandemic during the scheme period.
The new scheme envisages that the outstanding principal arrears accumulated upto March 31, 2022 after waving off 100 percent interest/surcharge shall be paid in a maximum of twelve (12) monthly installments.
The scheme further entails that the failure of payment of any installment/installments within the prescribed 12 months period shall invite penalty and legal action under Electricity Act, 2010, in addition to the accrual of compound interest on the outstanding dues.
The consumers who fail to pay the current bill simultaneously with the payment of monthly outstanding installments shall forfeit the benefits of the amnesty scheme besides disconnection of power supply.
An independent Project Management Agency will be hired for overseeing efficient implementation of the scheme, the press release said.
Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the LG, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, and Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the LG attended the meeting, spokesman said.
