PANAJI: The Panaji municipal market has been seeing the prospect of being without electricity supply as the CCP has failed to pay power dues running into Rs 3, 12, 28,309.
The CCP has been in a fix over the matter as the electricity department has sent disconnection notice to the market if the dues are not paid in seven days.
The notice sent to the CCP commissioner on February 8 by the assistant engineer (Com), Sub-Div-II (U) of the electricity department has asked the corporation to clear the outstanding dues within seven days, failing which the power supply to the market will be disconnected without any further notice.
Taking strong cognisance of the notice from the electricity department, CCP mayor Surendra Furtado on Friday sent a note to the CCP commissioner seeking a probe into this “inaction” on the part of the account section in not submitting a proposal for grants-in-aid to the directorate of municipal administration on time.
He sought necessary disciplinary action against the concerned official urgently.
Furtado requested the CCP commissioner to send immediately the proposal to the DMA seeking the grants-in-aid to the CCP for settling the outstanding dues of electricity and water supplies to the Panaji municipal market.
The mayor pointed out in the note that had the proposal for government grants been sent to the DMA in November 2016 by the CCP the government might have sanctioned the grant amount and the corporation would have been able to pay the electricity dues to the power department.
The outstanding dues being quite a big amount it may not be possible now for the CCP to pay the same to the electricity department, he said.
The standing committee in its meeting held on November 14, 2016 had decided to request the government to sanction grants from the budget allocation of Rs 20 crore to clear the outstanding bills of electricity and water supplies for the municipal market amounting to Rs 2,34,87,172 and Rs 65,35,179 respectively.
According to him, as per the minutes of the said meeting action on this resolution was to be taken by account section. However, it is understood that no proposal has so far been sent to the DMA for sanction of government grants for the purpose as directed by the committee.