THE State Government has adopted a tough stance on the implementation of the Samadhan Scheme, making it clear that officers and employees failing to achieve stipulated targets due to negligence will face demotion instead of transfer. Energy Minister Pradyumn Singh Tomar issued this warning while reviewing the progress of the scheme through an online meeting on Monday. He also directed power distribution companies to ensure uninterrupted electricity supply of 10 hours to farmers during the rabi season.

 

Reviewing the scheme’s progress circle-wise, Tomar stressed that accountability would be strictly enforced and no leniency would be shown in cases of lax implementation. He said that corrective action would be taken wherever required to ensure the scheme achieves its objectives. To encourage better performance, the Energy Minister announced incentives for officials achieving outstanding results under the Samadhan Scheme.

 

The Superintending Engineer of the best-performing circle will be awarded a cash prize of Rs 50,000, while the top-performing circle within a power distribution company area will receive Rs 25,000. An award of Rs 11,000 will be given to the best Assistant Engineer, and these achievements will also be entered in the officers’ confidential service records.

 

Tomar also directed that consumers with electricity bill arrears exceeding Rs 2 lakh should be personally contacted by Chief Engineers and Superintending Engineers, with details of such interactions to be shared with the Minister’s office. He emphasised that recovery from large defaulters must be prioritised to improve the financial position of power distribution companies and instructed senior officers to conduct regular field inspections. So far, Rs 578.22 crore has been collected under the Samadhan Scheme, while surcharge amounting to Rs 264.17 crore has been waived for consumers.

 

The Central Region Electricity Distribution Company has recorded the highest recovery of Rs 382.72 crore. The first phase of the scheme will continue till January 31. Energy Secretary Vishesh Garhpale directed that electricity connections of consumers who fail to clear pending dues should be disconnected and stressed the need to meet recovery targets. Earlier in the day, the Energy Minister also interacted with office-bearers of officers’ and employees’ organisations of power distribution companies through video conferencing and sought their active cooperation in the Samadhan Scheme.

 

He said the successful implementation of the scheme would benefit consumers as well as power companies, with employees also gaining directly and indirectly. Tomar urged the organisations to widely publicise the scheme and motivate consumers to avail its benefits, while extending New Year greetings. During the interaction, representatives of the organisations suggested extending the scheme till March and organising more camps to enhance consumer participation and recovery. Senior officials, including Managing Directors of various power distribution companies, participated in the meetings online.