MP: Discom takes to street plays to recover dues

Struggling to recover dues of more than Rs 700 crore, a power distribution company in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur, has decided to stage street plays to convince defaulters to pay their dues.

Until March 21, 2016, the Madhya Pradesh Purva Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Company Ltd (MPPKVVCL), Jabalpur was able to recover only Rs 72 crore out of the Rs 781.34 crore dues, which forced the discom to disconnect the power connections of defaulters either permanently or temporarily, said Mukesh Chand Gupta, managing director of the discom.

Instead of taking stringent measures, the discom has decided to organise street plays to convince defaulters to pay their dues under Samadhan scheme– a one-time settlement scheme, he said.

“A demonstration of a street play was held at the company headquarters at Jabalpur on Tuesday,” he said.

The company on February 25, 2016, launched the scheme to recover dues from defaulting consumers in the domestic category who have failed to pay dues until December 31, 2015.

There is separate provision to give concessions to defaulters falling in the below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL) categories.

Under the scheme, BPL consumers who were not able to pay , can clear their dues in a single installment and late payment surcharge or interest, will be fully waived, Gupta said.

He further said that defaulters can pay the dues in installments and the aim was to hold street plays is to recover dues before May 31, when scheme ends. “The street plays will act as catalyst to encourage defaulters in the domestic category to pay their power bills regularly apart from taking benefit of the scheme. We will take help from Jabalpur-based social organisation, Rang Abhiyan Samiti to stage the street plays,” Gupta said.

Ravindra Murhar, an artist of the samiti, said the street plays will be a new experience as in the past they have staged street plays on literacy, health schemes, and cleanliness and voters registration campaigns.

Two groups of the samiti will start staging the street plays after the Holi festival, he said.