Srinagar- An industrial unit in Lassipora, Pulwama owes around 5.50 crore rupees to Power Development Department (PDD).
An official from PDD department said that the unit has not paid electricity bills for the last 5 years.
The power supply to the unit was taken off in the year 2016.
According to a monthly PDD bill, a copy of which lies with Kashmir Observer, the unit which goes by the name of Mir Steel Rolling Mills in Pampore, Pulwama owes 54123364 till August 2021.
Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), Lassipora, Mushtaq Ahmad confirmed that the unit owes more than 5 crore rupees to the department and has violated a clause of power agreement.
He said the department then took “tough action” against the unit by deinstalling the power supply in 2016.
“ The owner was illegally running the induction / arc furnace section in his factory in violation of the clause 9 of the sanction order. So we disconnected his power supplies in 2016,” Ahmad said.
He said the owner approached the High Court of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh but the department also took a tough stand against him and refused to restore the power supply.
Talking to Kashmir Observer, Shafeeq Mir, owner of the Mir Steel Rolling Mills said that since the power supply of the factory was disconnected by the PDD, the unit stands difunctional.
“When we don’t work because of no electricity how can we pay the bills,” Mir said.
He refuted the claims of PDD officials that he has violated the clause 9 of the agreement.
“The designated committee has given us the approval for the clause. How could we violate when something has been approved,” he added.
Mir said, he installed the power unit in 2009 and used to pay lakhs of rupees as fee monthly. “But then the department disconnected the power supplies—making the unit, which is dependent on electricity—dysfunctional,” he added.
He said his unit would take 250 MV power supply monthly.
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