Outstanding electricity dues: Punjab among defaulter states

PATIALA: Amid the row over Punjab finance minister’s claim of no pending government dues towards the state power utility, the ministry of power has prepared a list that has Punjab at fourth rank among states that failed to clear the outstanding subsidy payable to its power sector.
The cumulative outstanding dues of Punjab departments were Rs 2,612 crore as on March 31, 2022, Rs 1,750 crore in March 2021 and Rs 2,250 crore in March 2020.
The government departments in various states have outstanding dues of Rs 66,631 crore as on March 2022, including those of Telangana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The government departments in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim do not have any pending dues.
Similarly, the cumulative subsidy receivable from the Punjab government was Rs 9,020 crore as on March 2022 whereas the receivable subsidy was Rs 1,239 crore and Rs 5,578 crore in March 2021 and 2020, respectively.
The total payable subsidy of various states amounts to Rs 76,337 crore.