Shillong, March 4 (IANS) Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma on Tuesday launched the One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for the consumers of Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) who are yet to clear their dues.
Launching the scheme in the presence of Power Minister Abu Taher Mondal, the Chief Minister said that close to 45,000 consumers will benefit as over Rs 26 crore in surcharges and penalties will be waived.
“The consumers will have to pay the principal amount of 40 per cent and the remaining 60 per cent in five equal instalments without interest,” he said.
Sangma urged consumers to take advantage of the scheme and avail the benefits being extended by the government. He said that the intervention was taken by the government to reduce the burden on the consumers, who have not cleared the electricity dues.
OTS Scheme 2025 is applicable for “Domestic Low Tension (DLT)” and “Kutir Jyoti/BPL” consumers having a declared load of 5 KW and below for disconnected consumers due to non-payment, to recover long outstanding dues of electricity bills.
The One Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme, 2025 will be effective from March 1 to 31.
Only consumers whose supply has been disconnected are eligible to apply for the OTS Scheme 2025 and avail of the benefit. The total outstanding dues from consumers to the tune of Rs 119 crore.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister also launched, on a pilot basis, six maintenance vehicles, which will be used by linesmen and maintenance workers of MeECL to safely and quickly access the power lines at various heights and locations.
“MePDCL have been using conventional vehicles and ladders for the restoration works to date. These vehicles equipped with hydraulic lift will ensure that linesmen can speed up the maintenance services and reduce the outage period of electricity,” he said.
The total cost of procurement of the vehicles is Rs 1.48 crore.
The Chief Minister further informed that this year there will be no scheduled load shedding. He lauded the department for different interventions being taken to reform the MeECL to provide better services. “AT&C losses have come down to less than 18 per cent,” he added. He also informed that the government is trying to stabilise power distribution in rural areas, including by the establishment of new substations. He said that the process will begin next month with the establishment of 10 new substations.
–IANS
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