PNS | Vijayawada
Union Power Minister RK Singh has taken a decisive stance on the long-pending issue of electricity dues owed by Telangana to Andhra Pradesh. The Minister announced that legal action will be pursued to recover the outstanding amount, which amounts to over Rs 6,000 crore. These dues have been pending since the bifurcation of the states, with Telangana repeatedly delaying payment to Andhra Pradesh for the electricity charges supplied.
The situation has been a matter of concern for the Andhra Pradesh government, as multiple attempts to resolve the issue through discussions with the Central Government and Telangana have yielded no favorable results.
During the Rajya Sabha question and answer session on Tuesday, Rajya Sabha member V Vijayasai Reddy from YSRCP raised the matter with Power Minister RK Singh. He inquired whether the Central government would consider exempting the dues from central taxes released under Telangana’s share if the Andhra Pradesh government made such a request. Additionally, Reddy sought clarity on the timeline for settling these arrears.
Minister RK Singh responded by shedding light on the power generation dynamics after the state’s bifurcation. As most power generation centers came under Andhra Pradesh, Telangana faced significant power shortages. To alleviate this issue, the Central Government intervened and directed Andhra Pradesh to supply electricity to Telangana as per the redistribution act. Initially, Telangana made regular payments for the electricity supplied, but it subsequently stopped, leading to the accumulation of dues exceeding Rs 6,000 crore.
The Minister stated that the Central Government shares the responsibility for ensuring Telangana’s payment of the dues since Andhra Pradesh supplied electricity following the Centre’s directives. To facilitate this process, discussions are ongoing with the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Finance to devise appropriate procedures for recovering dues from states that refuse to pay.
One of the proposed solutions is to request the Reserve Bank to exclude the outstanding dues from the funds allocated to Telangana under the state’s share of taxes.
