Power Department registers 24% rise in revenue till Sept

Power Department registers 24% rise in revenue till Sept Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 5
The Power Development Department (PDD) has claimed that it has achieved a sharp increase in revenue in the last nine months and it will also take some more steps to keep a check on power theft.
Minister for Power Shabir Ahmed Khan said the PDD had realised a revenue of Rs 265.33 crore till September in the Jammu division. “During the corresponding period last year, the department had realised Rs 213.22 crore. This means revenue has risen by 24 per cent in the Jammu division,” Shabir said.
Talking about the power scenario, the minister said he had directed the officials concerned to speed up the work of installing meters. “As many as 6,627 electronic meters have been installed in the Jammu division this year, besides some steps have also been taken to improve the power scenario,” said Shabir.
Talking about power pilferage, he said Rs 2.38 crore had been recovered as fine during inspections by flying squads till September end.
Shabir also appreciated the role of the PDD staff in improving revenue collection, he said. “Besides routine work, the PDD employees have provided uninterrupted power supply to the people of Katra during navratras. All possible arrangements, including additional transformers, were installed there.”
Meanwhile, a senior PDD official said the department initiative to conduct raids at night had also given good results. “We are video-graphing the raids so that no one can point fingers towards us. So far, we have covered a few localities in cities and will soon go to villages where meters have been installed,” said the official.