Barely three per cent of the Rs 554.74 crore in outstanding dues owed to the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Ltd (MeECL) by the public and businesses has been paid to the utility through its one-time settlement (OTS) amnesty scheme, Power Minister James Sangma admitted in the Assembly today.
Defaulters have until March 31 to take advantage of the scheme, which offers discounts and/or waiver of late payment fees, so the figure could still rise.
However, the MeECL has so far netted just Rs 19.02 crore through the offer, Sangma said during Question Hour, from 3,152 consumers.
Congress legislator George B Lyngdoh, who was asking the supplementary question, said that this was meagre.
The minister said that the low number of consumers coming forward to avail the OTS may be due to them not knowing about the scheme. Sangma also stated that, in the notice informing defaulters of the amnesty back in November, it was mentioned that such a scheme will not reoccur for the next five years.
