The Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) has urged the state government to release the salaries of its employees for June only if they clear their electricity bills. Following a directive from Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on June 6, the APDCL managing director has issued a letter to senior officials of the Assam government and requested them to ensure payment of power bills by their employees.
The letter, written on June 13, urged the government to instruct all Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDO) to ensure the collection of "No dues payable against Electricity bill of APDCL" certificates for all employees before processing salary bills on or before June 30.
"APDCL system generated payment receipt of current electricity bill may be considered as proof of payment for this purpose," it said. The APDCL MD wrote the letter to the Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, and Commissioner, and Secretaries of all departments under the Assam government.
The chief minister, who had reviewed the functioning of the Power Department recently, had proposed various measures for cutting back on losses being incurred by the three government-run power firms — APDCL, Assam Power Generation Corp Ltd (APGCL), and Assam Electricity Grid Corp Ltd (AEGCL).
Among such measures was ensuring timely payment of bills, particularly by the government employees.
(Published 19 June 2021, 17:16 IST)
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