City Circle Office of Madhya Pradesh Poorva Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Company Ltd (MPPKVVCL) started a massive campaign against defaulter electricity consumers who have yet to clear their electricity dues even after weaving their dues and surcharges during COVID-19 period. Despite a waiver of Rs 24.93 crore in electricity dues and surcharges during the COVID-19 period for 81,201 domestic consumers in Jabalpur City, 7,151 consumers failed to make any payment even after October 2023. These defaulters now have an additional Rs 4.20 crore on top of the previously deferred amount.

 

Taking a serious note into the matter, City Circle Jabalpur launched a massive enforcement drive on Wednesday, and nearly half of the defaulters, having debts of Rs 2.30 crore, are from the East Division alone, one of five divisions in the city. Sanjay Arora, Superintending Engineer, City Circle, Jabalpur informed that the strict operation involved 100% participation from junior and assistant engineers, led by executive engineers and supported by linemen and outsourced staff. Tasks included meter removal, service disconnections and bill recovery. Chief Engineer KL Verma and Superintending Engineer Sanjay Arora personally supervised the operation across various localities for over four hours. The drive proceeded peacefully, aided by police and district administration. Female officers were deployed in each team, and all staff had been briefed on safety and discipline protocols in advance.

 

A balanced approach was maintained and strict action was taken against will-full defaulters while consumers facing genuine hardships were given temporary relief. Out of 3.85 lakh total consumers in Jabalpur, 3.29 lakh are domestic users. The inaction of a small group of 7,151 defaulters had caused public frustration among regular bill payers. On Day 1, action was taken against 447 high-dues consumers with a total pending amount of Rs 67.32 lakh. East Division, especially areas like Madar Tekri, Pasiyana, Thakkar Gram, Haddi Godam and Madhotal saw the most impact. SE, Arora said that the department confirmed that similar strict actions will continue in the coming days, with a continued focus on fairness and accountability.