Punjab yet to pay Rs 700 cr subsidy dues to PowerCorp
Umesh Dewan
Tribune News Service

Patiala, March 26
With just five days left for the end of the current fiscal year, the Punjab Government has yet not paid the dues to the tune of about Rs 700 crore to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in lieu of the free power being given to the agricultural consumers. Non-clearance of the dues by the state government has further worsened the fiscal health of the cash-strapped PSPCL.

The Section 65 of the Electricity Act 2003 stipulates advance payment of subsidy in cash and does not permit book adjustments. Subsequently, the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) had instructed the state government to ensure that full advance monthly subsidy payment for the free power is paid without fail. Even the PSERC had directed the state government that the free power subsidy has to be paid in cash and not through any kind of book adjustment.

However, contrary to the instructions, the state government had not paid the full monthly advance payment for the free power subsidy and had also made book adjustments in the recent past. As per the documents procured by The Tribune, the total subsidy for 2011-12 was Rs 4,188.92 crore against which the actual payment made by the state government to the Power Corporation till March 15 was Rs 2,924.21 crore.

The Electricity Duty (ED) payable to the Punjab Government by the PSPCL for 2011-12 was Rs 1,400 crore. The PSPCL had paid the state government Rs 842.79 crore as ED till March 15. As per the projected figures, the collection of Rs 1,400 crore as ED implies that so far the PSPCL has retained Rs 557.21 crore of the ED. If the state government recovers Rs 557.21 crore from the PSPCL, still the net subsidy pending towards the state government would be Rs 707.5 crore.

Padamjit Singh, an expert in power sector, said, "The state government had adjusted on paper an amount of Rs 981.93 crore (on account of RBI bonds issued in 2003) against the power subsidy to be paid to the PSPCL for the year 2011-12. By doing so, the state government has violated the tripartite agreement between the Punjab Government, Union Government and the RBI. This is completely illegal."

Despite repeated attempts, Punjab Power secretary Anirudh Tiwari was not available for comments.