The corporation had in April sent a circular to the power utility to assess the dues of 2022.
As a result, local TNEB employees in various peripheral areas such as Ambattur, Manali and Madhavaram temporarily cut off power supply for GCC street lights, said corporation zonal engineers of GCC’s electrical department. “They restore power only after the intervention of senior officials,” said an assistant engineer.
Prior to 2018, the corporation had adjusted dues of Rs 43 crore against its land leased to TANGEDCO for transformers and EB stations. Since then, there has been no formal settlement on the amount owed, resulting in arbitrariness by local authorities.
“In 2015-16, a written agreement was made between the corporation and TANGEDCO that the power should not be cut despite the dues. However, later the dues were paid and the earlier deal was closed. When dues started accumulating from 2018 onwards, no formal arrangements were made,” said an AE with zone 3.
The issue of non-payment of dues largely lies with the lack of upgradation of the corporation’s revenue model, which relies heavily on property tax to pay arrears and debt. Even in the recent corporation budget, the civic body did not allocate any funds to pay its EB dues.
Officials said that from 1.6 lakh street lights built by the civic body in 2011, their number increased to 2.8 lakh after the corporation’s limits were expanded and areas like Tiruvotriyur and Ambattur came under the corporation’s limits, resulting in There was more consumption.
The civic body has 10,744 meters of electricity connections including street lights, buildings, Amma canteens, schools and hospitals. The average annual current consumption charge for the corporation is around Rs 65 crore, which is double the amount before expansion in 2011. The average annual revenue of the civic body has been Rs 2,000 crore, while its outstanding debt is Rs 3,500. This makes EB bills a low priority for executives as they have huge debt to pay.
Dr DS Sivasamy, former Additional Director, Municipal Administration Department, said that in order to clear its dues, the corporation should strengthen its property tax collection to hundred per cent, focusing on large entities such as colleges, theater owners and commercial establishments. should do. “Some discipline should be enforced in the collection of property tax.
Presently, the corporation receives 30% of its total annual revenue from wealth tax of Rs.2000 crores. About 70% of people pay their taxes on time. “GCC should earn revenue from the maintenance and advertisements of bus shelters. Professional tax may be increased for large commercial establishments,” he said.
Corporation officials said they have given 1.14 lakh square feet of land to TNEB for its use. “However, there needs to be a formal agreement to settle all the debts,” the officials said.
Municipal Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said that after the recent meeting with the officials of TANGEDCO, instructions have been given to pay the TNEB dues regularly. “Our dues are being reimbursed from the land which we gave them,” he said.
Experts said that administrative arrangements such as adjusting the dues for renting out land do not generate revenue for TANGEDCO. CAG senior energy researcher K Vishnu Mohan Rao said Tangedco is a commercial entity and no more bad loans can be added to its accounts. “GCC can probably move into more energy efficient lighting and explore solar illumination,” he said.
TANGEDCO MD Rajesh Lakhani was not available for comment.