Electricity supply will be restored to defaulting farmers, no disconnection for 3 months: Maha minister

Maharashtra Energy Minister Nitin Raut on Tuesday said the electricity supply to farmers, which was disconnected due to non-payment of dues, will be restored and there will be no disconnections for the next three months.

Raut made the announcement in the state Assembly after it witnessed four adjournments over the opposition BJP’s demand for restoration of power supply to farmers.

The minister said Mahavitaran, the government electricity distribution company with three crore consumers, has a debt of Rs 34,000 crore. The Mahavitaran has arrears worth Rs 9,176 crore and liability of Rs 20,268 crore, he added.

”We had given two per cent waiver to consumers who pay dues on time. The financial condition of Mahavitaran company is not good due to pending bank loans. When the (COVID-19-induced) lockdown was imposed in the state, we had provided uninterrupted services,” he said. ”Many of our employees lost their lives. We gave our best service even during cyclone. Power load-shedding took place in many states, but we didn’t resort to it. We think about farmers, but we need to take loan from banks. We are also giving priority to farmers,” the minister said. He also announced restoration of electricity to farmers whose power supply was disconnected.

Besides, there will be no electricity disconnections for three months, till the cutting of crops is completed, he said.