Pune: As many as 676 MSEDCL consumers in the Pune zone settled their power bill dues amounting to Rs 2.16 crore through the national Lok Adalat camp. This also includes settlements of six electricity theft cases, totalling Rs 34.
7 lakh, a statement from the public sector company said. The Lok Adalat was organised by the District Legal Services Authority last week. MSEDCL officials, including chief engineer Rajendra Pawar, participated in the Lok Adalat.
Judges AN Mare and RN Hiwase presided over the panel for pending bills, while sessions judge BP Kshirsagar presided over the panel for theft cases. The power company settled maximum cases in Ganeshkhind area, with pending dues totalling Rs 73 lakh from 323 cases, followed by Rasta Peth at Rs 51 lakh from 266 cases, and Pune rural at Rs 57 lakh from 81 cases. The company received a poor response as it had placed over 39,000 cases before the Lok Adalat, but only 676 cases were resolved, an official said.
As per the latest data from MSEDCL, around 9.3 lakh consumers in Pune district have not paid bills to the tune of Rs 261 crore. This includes domestic, industrial, and commercial connections.
Overall, in western Maharashtra, the unpaid dues in electricity bills are around Rs 416 crore. The power distribution company is running campaigns to reduce pending electricity dues and has also laid stress on online payments and keeping physical payment windows open on weekends. MSEDCL officials said that financial planning gets disrupted .