NAC, Tata Power face-off over dues

Bhanjanagar: The notified area council (NAC) authorities here and the power distribution firm Tata Power South Odisha Distribution Ltd (TPSODL) have locked horns after the latter snapped the power supply to a micro compost centre (MCC) owned by the former, a report said.

The power discom had disconnected power supply to the MCC last week over an outstanding energy bill of Rs 40,000.

The NAC authorities took a hard stance and retaliated against the move by sending a letter to Tata Power authorities to clear the outstanding bill of over Rs 21.11 crore towards holding tax within a fortnight.

The holding tax is outstanding on the power discom from 2007 to December 2021. Reports said the power discom owes the NAC Rs 1.17 lakh as outstanding holding tax way back in 2007.

The annual charge is now Rs 57,26,000 which when calculated with compound interest turns out to be over Rs 21 crore by December 31, 2021.

The MCC near the fingerling production centre in Bhanjanagar which manufactures organic compost was established a year back by Bhanjanagar block office.

Electricity connection to the plant was also in the name of the local BDO. Meanwhile, a power bill with an outstanding of Rs 40,000 was issued to the BDO.

However, the local block office paid no heed in clearing the dues as the plant is owned by the local NAC authorities. Moreover, the NAC authorities failed to know about the bill as the bill was served to the BDO.

In this situation, Tata Power snapped the power supply to the plant last week. In the absence of power supply, the plant was shut down and the workers working in the plant were rendered jobless.

Jagatjit Das, executive engineer of TPSODL, said he has forwarded the letter of the NAC authorities to his higher-ups for action at their end.

When contacted, Bhanjanagar NAC executive officer Ashutosh Gourav Kar said action would be taken against Tata Power as per rule if it fails to clear the arrears within the deadline.

PNN