By Arun Pratap Singh
Garhwal Post Bureau
DEHRADUN/ALMORA, 28 Mar: Uttarakhand Power Corporation Ltd (UPCL), in a significant development has disconnected the electricity connection of Deepak Arya’s warehouse over non-payment of electricity dues. Deepak Arya is the brother of Cabinet minister Rekha Arya. The action is stated to be part of a drive against the major electricity bill defaulters as the financial year nears its end.
UPCL Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL) has set a target of recovering Rs 8 crores in Almora district. The corporation is focused on collecting dues from defaulters. UPCL has released a list of major defaulters and is disconnecting their connections to recover the amounts. The list of UPCL defaulters includes Rekha Arya’s brother Deepak Arya along with ITI and DFO Civil Soyam among a total of 25 major defaulters.
The power connection of Deepak Arya’s warehouse was disconnected yesterday. In addition to being the brother of Cabinet Minister Rekha Arya, Deepak Arya is also the husband of Takula block pramukh Meenakshi Arya. The warehouse has an outstanding bill of about Rs 94,610. The energy corporation has also taken action against government departments, disconnecting connections of several consumers including the ITI institution and the office of DFO Civil Soyam office.
The DFO office had unpaid dues of about Rs 90,179 while ITI owed Rs 51,390. The municipal corporation has also been warned to deposit its outstanding amount. Even after paying Rs 4 lakh, it still has a liability of Rs 4.62 crore.
Meanwhile, the sports department’s connection was disconnected due to dues of Rs 3 lakhs, but it was restored after the department gave assurances. The Police Lines in Almora has also a pending due against it of an amount of around Rs 7.5 lakh. The corporation has so far recovered about Rs 6 crore.
Executive Engineer Kanhaiya Mishra stated that continuous action is being taken against those not paying bills. He added that all defaulters were served notices before disconnection. He has appealed to all consumers to clear their outstanding bills before the financial year ends.
